AAPI Heritage Month Spotlight

Meet Topps Associate Product Manager Jed Papa

Date: May 15, 2026

Topics: 2025 Topps Chrome Football, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Cards and Culture, Football, Trending

Length: 1327 Words

Reading Time: ~7 Minutes

As the football card market continues to evolve with bold creativity, cultural influence, and growing global reach, Topps is helping shape the future of The Hobby from the inside out.

RIPPED caught up with Topps Associate Product Manager Jed Papa to talk about life behind the scenes on the Topps Football team, the creative process behind 2025 Topps Chrome Football, and how his Filipino and Pacific Islander heritage continues to inspire his work in the sports collectibles industry.

Topps Associate Product Manager Jed Papa is helping shape the future of football cards through creativity, culture, and collector-focused innovation. From launching 2025 Topps Chrome Football to developing standout inserts like Kaiju, Papa brings a unique perspective rooted in storytelling, design, and his Filipino and Pacific Islander heritage.

A Chat with Topps Associate Product Manager Jed Papa

RIPPED: What does a typical day look like for you as an Associate Product Manager on the Football team?

Jed Papa: No two days are ever really the same, which is honestly one of my favorite parts of the job. A typical day can range from reviewing product development timelines, working on checklist strategy, and coordinating with licensing or athlete relations teams, to sitting in creative meetings discussing card designs, inserts, packaging, and overall product vision.

There’s also a lot of collaboration with sales, marketing, and operations to make sure products launch successfully and feel authentic to collectors. Some days are super analytical and planning-focused, while others are all about creativity and innovation.

What’s a football product or campaign you’re most proud of working on?

One of the football projects I’m most proud of working on this year was helping launch 2025 Topps Chrome Football to open the season. It was exciting to see ideas that had lived in development meetings and concept decks finally come to life in the hands of collectors.

One of my favorite examples is the recent viral case hit, Kaiju. Watching The Hobby react so positively to something we poured so much creativity into was incredibly rewarding.

I’ve always loved products that push The Hobby visually and culturally beyond traditional sports cards by blending premium design, storytelling, and the overall collector experience. Seeing collectors, breakers, and even newer fans genuinely connect with the parallels, inserts, and identity of a product after months of development makes all the long hours worth it.

What skills do you think are most important for succeeding in your role?

Adaptability is huge because the industry moves incredibly fast and priorities can shift overnight. Understanding culture and how quickly trends, player hype, and collector interests evolve plays a major role too, because it constantly changes how I approach products creatively and strategically.

A big part of the job almost feels like predicting the future — trying to anticipate what collectors will connect with months before a product even releases — which definitely adds another layer of challenge. Communication and collaboration are also critical since product development touches so many different departments.

Creativity matters a lot as well, not just visually, but in how you build an overall product identity that resonates with collectors. You have to balance athletes, trends, storytelling, and culture all at once. Attention to detail is another major factor because even small product decisions can have a huge impact on the collector experience.

As an AAPI professional in the sports industry, what has your experience been like?

It’s been meaningful to represent and contribute within an industry that’s constantly evolving and becoming more inclusive. Growing up, I honestly didn’t get to see a lot of people from my community working in this space, especially in creative and product-focused roles within sports and collectibles. Because of that, being in this position now means a lot to me.

Being Filipino and Pacific Islander has always been a huge source of pride for me, and I’ve always wanted to represent my people in a positive way through the work I do. I take pride in bringing my own perspective, culture, and experiences into the products and ideas I help create, while also showing younger generations and people in my community that these kinds of opportunities and leadership roles are possible for them too.

I think representation matters because sometimes all it takes is seeing someone who looks like you in a space to realize you belong there as well.

What advice would you give to young AAPI professionals hoping to work in sports or collectibles?

Stay authentic to who you are and never underestimate how valuable your perspective can be. The things that make you different — your culture, your background, your experiences, and your interests — are often the exact things that can help you stand out and create something meaningful. Build relationships, stay curious, and keep learning, because this industry evolves constantly, and the people who succeed are usually the ones willing to adapt and grow with it.

I’d also say don’t be afraid to branch away from the path others may have envisioned for you. A lot of us grow up feeling pressure to follow certain careers or stay inside safe expectations, especially within our families and communities. While that comes from love, sometimes it can leave people stuck in positions they were never truly passionate about. There’s nothing wrong with choosing a path that genuinely excites and fulfills you.

Some of the best ideas in sports and collectibles today come from blending multiple passions together — culture, design, entertainment, fashion, music, technology, and storytelling. That intersection is where innovation really happens.

Most importantly, put yourself out there and stay consistent. Passion is contagious, and opportunities often come from people seeing how much you genuinely care about what you do. When you lead with authenticity and passion, people feel it.

What excites you most about the future of football cards and The Hobby overall?

What excites me most is how much The Hobby continues to evolve culturally and globally. Football cards are no longer just collectibles; they’re becoming part of a much bigger lifestyle and entertainment culture. You’re seeing influences from fashion, streetwear, content creation, live breaking, and even art shape the overall Hobby experience in ways we really haven’t seen before.

I also think there’s huge potential in attracting younger collectors through innovation, storytelling, and more experiential product releases. What’s exciting is that it still feels like we’re only scratching the surface, especially now that we have the NFL license.

There are so many new ideas, products, and concepts that can finally become reality, and I genuinely feel like we’re just getting started. There’s a lot brewing creatively right now, and honestly, people are going to have to wait and see what’s coming next.

The future of The Hobby feels incredibly creative, and being part of building that is something I’m really excited about.

FAQs

Who is Jed Papa at Topps?
- Jed Papa is a Topps Associate Product Manager working on football trading card products. His responsibilities include product development, checklist strategy, creative collaboration, and shaping collector experiences.
What is 2025 Topps Chrome Football?
- 2025 Topps Chrome Football is a football trading card release from Topps featuring premium Chrome designs, parallels, inserts, and collector-focused innovations.
What skills are important for working in sports collectibles?
- Adaptability, creativity, communication, collaboration, and attention to detail are all critical skills for product development roles within sports collectibles and trading cards.
Why is representation important in sports collectibles?
- Representation helps create visibility and opportunity within the industry. Papa emphasized that seeing people from diverse backgrounds working in sports collectibles can inspire younger generations to pursue similar careers.