Tag Archives: reggie northrup

Northrup II, Reggie (2)

Card: Topps AAF 2019
Acquired: IP 2020, Houston Roughnecks / Tampa Bay Vipers Joint Practice
See Also: Reggie Northrup II

After the AAF folded, Reggie’s football dreams did not end. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Vipers during the XFL 2020 draft.

When I heard that the Vipers and Roughnecks were doing a joint practice, Reggie was one of the top players I was after. I wasn’t sure if he’d be a viable TTM candidate due to his pending litigation against the former AAF. I thought perhaps he might have sour grapes over even signing autographs- so in person was the way to go.

Reggie stayed after the joint practice to work the kids clinic. I loved his energy, how he smiled, and had fun with all the kids. He made them each feel special. It so moved me that it made me wish that these sort of initiatives existed when I was a child, and that my father had taken me to one.

After the clinic ended Reggie and a few other players retrieved their backpacks and equipment that they had left stashed by the visitor’s wall. I caught him on the way out, and he beamed when I asked him for his autograph on his AAF card. He excitedly pointed out to his teammates that I had his card, and then when I asked him if he knew where Obum Gwacham was, he flagged him down for me! Then Reggie jokingly leaned in and said, “I didn’t even know he played for the Hotshots.” It was a great experience, and we wished each other the best and that the AAF didn’t need to end the way it did.

Reggie was on and off the roster of the Tampa Bay Vipers throughout the short 5 week season. His litigation against the former AAF is still pending.

With how things have happened since then with COVID, which occurred a month or two after this event, it seems so long ago now how I was able to go to public events like this and get autographs.

Northrup II, Reggie

Card: Topps 2019 AAF (1/1)
Acquired: Box Breaker 2019

After Reggie was not selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, he’d be briefly on the training camp and practice squads of the Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams through mid-2017. He’d join the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL and start 3 games, notching 22 tackles before heading down to join the AAF.

Reggie played and started in all 8 games for the Orlando Apollos. He finished with 62 total tackles and a sack on the season for Orlando in 2019- placing him 7th in the league.

A well designed 1/1 card here, I was really impressed by the look of the certified autographs from the Topps 2019 AAF set. Too bad the AAF didn’t last beyond 8 games thanks to terrible investors who pulled out the rug from under the league. Reggie felt the same as well and as of this post is one of the chief plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit drawn by the players of the league against the Alliance.

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