Last updated: March 2026. We'll update this guide as TOTS approaches with confirmed dates and observed price trends. If EA officially announces the schedule, we'll revise accordingly.
EA FC 26 TOTS Market Crash: When to Sell, Buy & Profit
Important disclaimer: Buying or selling EA FC coins through third-party services is against EA's Terms of Service. This article discusses market strategy and coin management. If you choose to buy coins, understand the risks. Read our complete safety guide first.
Every year, TOTS triggers one of the two biggest market crashes in the FC cycle. But unlike the TOTY crash in January which tends to be sharp, concentrated, and over in about two weeks, the TOTS crash is typically slower, deeper, and lasts for almost two months. It doesn't just punish people who hold too long. For players who see it coming, it can be one of the stronger squad-building windows of the entire year.
This guide covers the mechanics of the TOTS crash, when selling and buying have historically made the most sense, and how to approach the market with a plan rather than panic. For the full TOTS event breakdown, including expected dates, leagues, and how it works, read our complete FC 26 TOTS guide.
If you're looking to go into TOTS with a strong coin balance, you can check our current prices here. We deliver via a snipe-based method with 700+ public Trustpilot reviews. Read on for the full market strategy first.
Why the market crashes during TOTS
The TOTS crash isn't random and it isn't mysterious. It happens because of three forces hitting the market at roughly the same time.
Supply flood. TOTS releases the highest-rated cards of the cycle across multiple leagues over 7 to 8 weeks. EA also typically runs lightning rounds, boosted pack offerings, and guaranteed TOTS SBCs. The result is a large volume of high-rated cards entering the market in a sustained wave. When a 96-rated TOTS version of a player is available in packs, every previous version of that player, and players at a similar level, tends to lose demand quickly.
Pre-crash panic selling. Experienced players know the supply flood is coming and often start selling their squads 1 to 2 weeks before TOTS begins. This can create a self-reinforcing cycle: prices start dipping, which causes more people to sell, which pushes prices down further. In many previous FC cycles, this pre-crash window has produced some of the sharpest price drops of the entire event, sometimes before a single TOTS item has entered packs.
Demand shift. Once TOTS is live, buyer attention shifts heavily to the new cards. Older promo items don't just lose value because of supply; they lose it because demand moves elsewhere. A FUT Birthday card at a position where a comparable or better TOTS option exists faces pressure from both sides.
The crash timeline and where we are now
The TOTS crash doesn't start when TOTS drops. It typically starts weeks earlier. Here's how the timeline has played out in recent cycles, including FC 25, FC 24, and earlier FIFA titles.
| Phase | Typical timing | What tends to happen |
|---|---|---|
| Early warning | About 3 weeks before TOTS | Informed traders start selling. Prices drift downward on expensive tradeables. Most players don't notice yet. |
| Panic sell | 1 to 2 weeks before TOTS | The wider community starts dumping squads. Mid-tier promo cards often drop sharply. This phase can be one of the steepest parts of the decline. |
| TOTS Warmup | About 1 week before main TOTS | EA re-releases popular cards. Hype builds. Prices sometimes stabilize briefly as most panic sellers have already exited. |
| Main TOTS launches | Weeks 1 to 6 of TOTS | Each league release creates a fresh supply wave. Non-TOTS cards tend to continue sliding. TOTS cards themselves are often expensive on day one, then drop as supply builds. |
| Ultimate TOTS | Final week or weeks | All top TOTS cards return to packs. This has historically been one of the lowest points for most card prices across the cycle. |
Right now, as of late March 2026 based on the leaked promo schedule, we appear to be in the early warning phase. Trophy Titans is expected through mid-April, and TOTS Warmup has been leaked for around April 17. If those dates hold, the main panic sell window would likely open in early April. That would give you roughly two to three weeks to make your moves, though exact timing will depend on how the community reacts to content releases in the coming weeks.
What drops, what holds, and what rises
Not everything loses value at the same rate. Understanding where your cards fall on this spectrum can help you make better decisions about what to sell, what to keep, and where opportunity might exist.
Cards that tend to drop the hardest
Mid-tier promo cards often take the biggest hit. FUT Birthday, Future Stars, Fantasy FC, and earlier promo items that aren't best-in-class at their position tend to lose the most ground. These are the cards that were good enough during their promo window but get outclassed by TOTS versions. Cards in the 92 to 94 OVR range from promos earlier in the cycle have historically been among the most vulnerable.
Gold rares from popular leagues also tend to decline, though usually less dramatically. Premier League, La Liga, and Ligue 1 gold rares that were popular for chemistry purposes often get undercut as TOTS versions fill those same chemistry roles with much better stats.
Earlier TOTS cards from smaller leagues, such as Community TOTS or EFL TOTS, often lose value once the major league squads drop and pack supply shifts to more desirable cards.
Cards that tend to hold better
Endgame icons and heroes with unique body types, skill move combinations, or irreplaceable chemistry links have historically held better than other tradeable cards. These don't have direct TOTS replacements, so demand tends to persist. They still lose some value in most cycles, almost everything does during TOTS, but the decline is often more gradual.
Untradeable cards are obviously unaffected by market prices, which is one reason building an untradeable core through SBCs and objectives throughout the year tends to pay off during crash periods.
Cards that can actually rise
SBC fodder, especially cards rated 85 to 88, is the notable exception in many TOTS cycles. TOTS brings a wave of premium SBCs, guaranteed TOTS player packs, and upgrade SBCs, all of which require high-rated fodder. Demand for 86 to 87 rated cards in particular has historically spiked during TOTS, pushing prices up even as the broader market falls. More on this below.
When to sell, the exit window
One of the most impactful decisions you can make before TOTS is when to sell your tradeable cards. Based on how previous TOTS crashes have played out, here's a framework to think about it.
Selling earlier often protects more value than trying to time the exact peak. If you're holding cards worth 200,000 or more that aren't part of your untradeable core, selling in late March or early April, before the pre-crash panic accelerates, can help reduce the risk of losing a large chunk of value. You likely won't sell at the perfect moment. Nobody does consistently. But selling a bit early and missing a small upside tends to be less costly than selling late and catching a steep decline.
Mid-tier promo cards are typically the highest priority to move. Cards rated 91 to 94 from FUT Birthday, Future Stars, and similar promos are the ones most directly replaced by incoming TOTS versions. If you're going to sell anything, these are usually worth considering first.
Keep your untradeable core and play with it. You don't need to gut your entire club. The goal is to convert tradeable value into coins before that value erodes. If your best players are untradeable, you're already in a stronger position than most.
The exit window narrows as TOTS approaches. Once the expected TOTS Warmup window, leaked for around April 17, arrives, prices are likely to already reflect a meaningful portion of the crash. Selling during Warmup is still better than selling during TOTS itself, but the larger preservation window is earlier.
When to buy, the entry window
If the sell window is about preserving value, the buy window is about finding opportunity. In many FC cycles, TOTS has been one of the more coin-efficient periods of the year for building your squad.
For non-TOTS cards: some of the deeper discounts have historically arrived during Premier League TOTS week, typically week 2 of the main event. This is when pack openings tend to be at their peak and everything that isn't a fresh TOTS card faces the most supply pressure. If there's a FUT Birthday or Future Stars card you've been wanting but couldn't afford, this can be a strong window to look.
For TOTS cards themselves: many players find it helpful to wait a few days after a league's release rather than buying on day one. TOTS cards from each league are often at their most expensive the moment they enter packs, driven by hype and low supply, and frequently drop over the following days as more packs are opened and supply builds up. Buying later in a league's release week has been a common approach for reducing the risk of overpaying.
Ultimate TOTS, the final week when all top TOTS cards return to packs, has historically been one of the lowest price points for most cards in the game. For players who can wait, this can be one of the stronger buying windows of the entire FC 26 cycle, though the trade-off is that the remaining content window is shorter by that point.
Having coins available during these windows matters regardless of how you build your balance, whether through gameplay rewards, trading, or other means. For our full take on the event itself, including dates, leagues, and preparation, see our complete TOTS guide.
The SBC fodder play
This has historically been one of the more consistent ways to come out ahead during a market crash rather than just surviving it.
TOTS typically brings high-demand SBCs: guaranteed league TOTS player packs, TOTS upgrade SBCs, premium player pick SBCs, and often a marquee icon or hero SBC. All of these require high-rated cards as submission fodder. The pattern in many previous cycles has been consistent: cards rated 85 to 88 that are sitting at low prices in the weeks before TOTS can rise significantly when SBC demand spikes during the main event.
The approach is straightforward: buy cheap 86 to 87 rated cards while they're unloved, hold them through the initial crash, and sell them into SBC demand during the major league TOTS weeks. This isn't glamorous trading. It's slow and requires patience. But across multiple FC and FIFA cycles, it has been one of the more reliable strategies available during TOTS, and it tends to move in the opposite direction of the broader crash.
A few practical notes: spread your investment across multiple leagues and nationalities, because some SBCs require specific chemistry links; avoid putting everything into one rating tier, because EA can shift SBC requirements from cycle to cycle; and consider selling into the first wave of major SBC demand rather than trying to hold for a perfect peak. Fodder prices have historically been strongest during the first two to three major league TOTS releases and can soften once pack supply catches up with demand later in the event.
FAQ
When should I sell my squad before TOTS?
Based on historical patterns, selling 1 to 3 weeks before TOTS starts has often protected the most value. For FC 26, that would mean early to mid-April if the leaked dates hold. Selling earlier and missing a small upside tends to be less costly than selling late into the steepest part of the decline.
When is the best time to buy during TOTS?
For non-TOTS cards, some of the deeper discounts have historically appeared during Premier League TOTS week. For TOTS cards from a specific league, many players wait a few days after release for supply to build up. Ultimate TOTS at the end of the event has often been one of the lowest price points of the cycle.
Do all cards lose value during TOTS?
Most tradeable cards tend to, but the degree varies. SBC fodder, especially 85 to 88 rated cards, has historically risen during TOTS due to increased SBC demand. Endgame icons and heroes with unique attributes have often held better than other tradeables. Untradeable cards are unaffected by market prices.
Is the TOTS crash worse than the TOTY crash?
They're different. The TOTY crash is typically sharper and more concentrated, around two weeks. The TOTS crash is usually slower but deeper and lasts much longer, around 7 to 8 weeks. The total cumulative price impact across the market tends to be larger during TOTS because of the sustained supply pressure across multiple leagues.
Should I buy coins before or during TOTS?
Both approaches can work. Buying before TOTS lets you sell your current squad at higher prices and stockpile coins. Buying during TOTS lets you go straight to purchasing discounted players. For many players, TOTS can be one of the more coin-efficient periods of the cycle because player prices often fall while upgrade opportunities increase. For more on how coin buying works, read our complete coin buying guide.
How long does the TOTS crash last?
The full TOTS event typically runs 7 to 8 weeks, and the market impact often extends a week or two before and after the official window. Prices generally don't recover to pre-TOTS levels. Once TOTS ends, the game transitions into end-of-cycle promos like Shapeshifters and Futties where prices tend to continue declining, though at a slower rate. For many players, TOTS is effectively the last major window to build a competitive squad at reasonable prices before the cycle winds down.