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You are here: Home / Around the Hobby / Notebook: Players’ Unions Report Licensing Fees, Upbeat Market News

Notebook: Players’ Unions Report Licensing Fees, Upbeat Market News

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Trading card companies are still shelling out big bucks to pro athletes.

MLB MLBPA licensees logosThe NFL Players Association received around $25 million in fees from Topps and Panini for fiscal 2014, a similar figure to what they paid the year before, according to data obtained by Sports Collectors Daily.

Meanwhile, the Major League Baseball Players Association reported it had received over $10.1 million from Topps in 2014, compared to $10.5 million in 2013 and $9.5 million in 2012. Topps has an exclusive partnership with baseball for the production of licensed trading cards that runs through 2020.

Sports Business Daily reported last year that the new exclusive, long-term contract between the NFL players and Panini America which goes into effect next year is much more lucrative that the current combined deal.

The money is for licensing royalties, player marketing and sponsorship.

The agreements enable the card companies to use the players’ names and images on their products.

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Those who say the trading card hobby is dead haven’t connected with Baseball Card Exchange.  The northwest Indiana-based company says it’s busier than ever, expanding its online business, its warehouse inventory, brick-and-mortar store and is now doing regular in-store autograph sessions.

Now, they have opened a third eBay store, this one devoted to ungraded vintage cards from the early 20th century and up.  As of Tuesday night, it contained over 6,000 cards.

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Business is good, too, in Kansas City, where the Royals’ resurgence is bringing kids—and their dads who were collectors as youngsters—back according to KSHB-TV which visited a local shop.  Watch the story below (if you can’t see it, click here).
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And the high-end market is still capturing attention. Chris Ivy of Heritage Auctions chatted with ThinkAdvisor.com.

Related Stories:

Labor Dept. Report: Topps Paid MLBPA Over $20 Million in 2020 Topps Remains MLBPA’s Top Licensee as Union Stockpiles Cash Notes: Chicago Area Shop Still Going; Six-Figure Bids; NE Ohio Show; Mahomes Rules Sales Topps, MLBPA Extend Trading Card License McFarlane Ezekiel Elliott figureElliott, Prescott, Brady Top NFLPA’s Top Selling Players Dual Patch 2016 Panini SpectraPanini Outlines NFL Plans, Talks Logistics Panini Wins NFLPA Award Kris Bryant rookie card 2015 ToppsRamblings: Year of the Rookie Card

About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for over 40 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected].