Upper Deck The Cup explained: tins, rookies and runs
How Upper Deck's high-end hockey set works: when each edition's checklist was posted, how its Rookie Auto Patch cards are numbered, and why they come slabbed.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 7 min read
The Cup is the product Upper Deck calls the crown jewel of its hockey lineup, sold in tins through hobby shops and Upper Deck’s approved online dealers. Its best-known cards are the Rookie Auto Patch cards: signed rookie cards that carry a patch, numbered to 249 or 99 in the base version, with much smaller runs that use tags, buttons and shields. Each edition’s checklist went up months after the season in its name, and in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 editions every Rookie Auto Patch card left the factory sealed in a slab.
What is The Cup?
In 2023-24, every tin delivered one Rookie Auto Patch card plus a mix of autographs, memorabilia cards and inserts. Along with Ultimate Collection, The Cup is one of the company’s super-premium releases.
For 2024-25, Upper Deck sends buyers to local hobby shops and to its Authorized Internet Retailers, Certified Diamond Dealers allowed to sell its products online. Our guide to Upper Deck hockey sets shows where The Cup sits in the rest of the lineup.
When was each edition’s checklist posted?
Months after the season in its name. These are the dates each checklist was posted, which are not release dates: the 2023-24 checklist went up on May 22, 2025, and Upper Deck gave June 4, 2025 for the release.
| Edition | Checklist posted |
|---|---|
| 2015-16 | December 1, 2016 |
| 2016-17 | October 25, 2017 |
| 2017-18 | October 24, 2018 |
| 2018-19 | October 23, 2019 |
| 2019-20 | February 17, 2021 |
| 2020-21 | February 23, 2023 |
| 2021-22 | December 20, 2023 |
| 2022-23 | September 18, 2024 |
| 2023-24 | May 22, 2025 |
| 2024-25 | November 21, 2025 |
For the four editions from 2015-16 to 2018-19, the checklist went up late in the season’s second calendar year, in October or December. The next three went up later, as far as February 2023 for the 2020-21 edition. Then the 2023-24 and 2024-25 checklists went up six months apart, both in 2025. In every edition listed, the checklist appeared months after the season it is named for.
How is the 2024-25 checklist built?
The base set runs from 1 to 200, in two halves:
| 2023-24 | 2024-25 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cards 1 to 100 | Non-rookie players, unsigned, each numbered to 249 | Non-rookie players, unsigned, each numbered to 249 |
| Rookie Auto Patch cards, 101 to 200 | 77: 71 numbered to 249, six to 99 | 76: 70 numbered to 249, six to 99 |
| Unsigned rookie cards, 101 to 200 | 23 | 24 |
| Lines on the checklist | 5,517 | 4,728 |
| Set names on the checklist | 346 | 372 |
Most of the checklist is signed: in 2024-25, 3,078 of the 4,728 lines carry the autograph flag. The base set Rookie Auto Patch cards are a staple of the product, also called Rookie Patch Auto in 2023-24.
How do the Rookie Auto Patch parallels work?
Each rookie card number comes in a ladder of versions. Each version carries its own material, and the run shrinks as the material changes. The 2024-25 ladder, with the veteran half beside it:
| Version | Material on the checklist | Rookie run, 101 to 200 | Veteran run, 1 to 100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base card | Patch on the Rookie Auto Patch cards, none for veterans | 249 or 99, signed | 249, unsigned |
| Gold Foil parallel | Patch | 24 | 8 |
| Red Foil parallel | Tag | 4 | 4 |
| Green Foil parallel | Button | 3 | 3 |
| Black Foil parallel | Shield | 1 | 1 |
| Gold Spectrum Foil variation | None | 36, signed | 12, signed |
| Black Foil variation | None | 1, signed | 1, signed |
Every version in the rookie column of this ladder is signed; the 24 unsigned rookie cards sit outside it. The veteran parallels come in signed and unsigned forms, and a few signed ones have no material. For a rookie card numbered to 249 that has all seven versions, the runs add up to 318 signed copies. Not every number has every version, though: the Red and Green rookie parallels list 69 cards each, against 76 base Rookie Auto Patch cards.
The ladder gives you a quick check. A tag version should carry a run of 4 and a button version a run of 3. If the material and the stamp do not match the same row, look again. Our guide to how serial-numbered cards work covers reading the stamp.
What else comes in the tins?
More than The Cup’s own sets. Among the 2024-25 inserts, Lavish, Elegant Etchings and Autographed Monumental Puck Booklets are new, and Color Coded, Enshrinements and Emblems of Endorsements are billed as sets no edition is complete without. The checklist also holds:
- Other brands: nine 2024-25 Exquisite Collection sets (307 lines) and three 2024-25 Splendor sets (36 lines).
- Printing plates from other products: plates of rookie cards from Artifacts, Black Diamond, Credentials, SP Authentic, SPx, Ultimate Collection and others. A printing plate is a one-of-a-kind piece used to print a card, in one of four colors: black, cyan, magenta or yellow. Our guide to serial-numbered cards explains how plates are numbered.
- Update sets: 244 set names include the word Update, attached to seasons from 2016-17 on.
Almost every set is listed as a random insert in tins. Six carry a card rate instead, written per pack: the Elegant Etchings autograph parallel (1:9), Logomarks (1:10), Rendition Relics (1:12), Signature Renditions (1:15), Signature Renditions Retirement (1:60) and Signature Renditions Combos (1:60 and 1:80). No pack count per tin is given, so a per-pack rate cannot be turned into a per-tin figure.
Why are the rookie patch cards slabbed?
To stop patch swapping, where counterfeiters cut out a card’s patch and put in another to raise its resale price. In a May 2025 press release, Upper Deck’s president said the card trade has faced “a massive patch swapping challenge for years now.”
Upper Deck’s answer came in two steps:
- 2023-24 edition: for the first time, every Rookie Auto Patch card was sealed in a slab at the factory, photographed, and tied to a QR code with its own serial number. Scanning the code opens a gallery of images showing the card as Upper Deck issued it.
- 2024-25 edition: each tin’s Rookie Auto Patch card comes in an Authority slab marked uncirculated, because it was sealed during manufacturing. Dynamics Inc., which created The Authority, launched the Grading Chip with this edition: a grading label sealed into the slab, so the card can be graded without breaking the case.
Upper Deck’s December 3, 2025 post on the Grading Chip adds an offer with an end date. Collectors who send a slabbed, uncirculated Rookie Auto Patch card from 2023-24 or 2024-25 to The Authority can have it graded with the Grading Chip free. The post says The Authority charges nothing to submit or vault these slabs, and that the offer ends on December 31, 2026. Our guides to autographs and patch cards and to spotting a fake slab cover the checks around them.
How to check a Cup card before you buy
- Note the edition, the set name and the card number, then find the row on that edition’s checklist.
- Match the material to the tier: patch, tag, button or shield.
- Match the stamp to the run in that row, such as 4 for a 2024-25 rookie tag version.
- For a 2023-24 or 2024-25 Rookie Auto Patch card, scan the QR code on the factory slab and compare the card with Upper Deck’s images.
- For an earlier card with no factory slab, look hard at the patch and the signature. Our guide to checking an autograph card lists what to look for.
- Price it from sales of the exact card, version and run, as our guide to valuing a sports card explains.
If you plan to grade an older card, the grading cost calculator shows service levels, prices and estimated waits. For the flagship rookie cards from the same seasons, see our guide to Young Guns, and the sports cards hub gathers Rip.fan’s sports card coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Which game is on Connor Bedard's 2023-24 The Cup rookie patch?
The Blackhawks' March 5, 2024 game against the Arizona Coyotes, when Bedard had 2 assists as Chicago beat Arizona 5 to 2.
Who led the 2023-24 The Cup rookie class?
Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli and Logan Cooley.
Which inserts made their debut in 2023-24 The Cup?
Baroque, Cup Coronation and Exquisite Collection Black Gold Auto, beside returning Limited Logos. Booklets that year included Autographed Monumental Patch Booklets and Nine-Way Signature Booklets.