Panini America has agreed to pay bankruptcy creditors of the makers of the original Wild Card Football trading cards $25 million, settling a case filed against it in February of last year.
The case had been scheduled to go to trial in September.
Hanlin Bavely, the Chapter 7 trustee of AAA Sports, Inc., which made Wild Card products, accused Panini of creating cards that had been copyrighted by the company in the 1990s. The suit claimed copyright infringement on Wild Card Football “Stat Smashers” insert card designs from 1992 and 1993.
Caught in a battle between certain star players, the NFLPA and NFL Properties, Wild Card found itself unable to continue producing enough desirable licensed cards and filed for bankruptcy in February of 1994, leaving behind several creditors, including the NFLPA. However, its copyrights remained in place.
In the original court documents, AAA Sports entered exhibits showing its original cards with those created nearly three decades later by Panini. AAA Sports’ attorneys claimed Panini copied the company’s Stat Smashers designs when it created its 2020 and 2021 Certified Football cards as well as some digital cards.
Several Pro Football Hall of Famers were featured on both the originals and Panini’s versions, with each Panini Certified set offering 25 cards.
Many of Panini’s Stat Smashers designs were virtually identical, except for the company logos.
The $25 million settlement “will provide the estate’s creditors with certainty of recovery on their claims in full, with nearly 30 years of interest.” Attorneys for AAA Sports also cited the expenses and preparation that would have been involved had the case gone to trial.
The AAA Sports bankruptcy case was closed in 2000 but reopened 21 years later, several months prior to the filing of the lawsuit against Panini.
Panini’s decision to settle is the latest in what’s been a challenging 2023 that included a break-in at its Dallas office, the loss of nearly 40 employees to Fanatics, the recent NFLPA announcement that it was terminating its deal with the company and a barrage of legal wranglings with Fanatics.
The settlement in the AAA Sports/Wild Card case must still be approved by a bankruptcy judge in Texas where the case was filed.
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