Panini America has signed Washington Wizards rookie Rui Hachimura to an exclusive autograph trading card and memorabilia agreement. The first NBA trading cards and autographs of Hachimura, the first Japanese-born player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, are in 2019-20 NBA Hoops and he’ll be featured in all of Panini America’s officially licensed trading card … [Read more...]
Hunt for Zion Williamson Crashes Panini Website
Panini America offered boxes of 2018-19 Contenders Draft Picks basketball through its First Off The Line program Thursday morning and the result was a frustrating experience for those who tried to buy the product featuring the hottest NBA prospect in years. The possibility of Zion Williamson cards made Contenders a big draw, with Panini limiting orders to one box per … [Read more...]
NHL’s Second Pick Kaapo Kakko Signs Deal with Panini America
Panini America announced Thursday that it has signed Finnish hockey star Kaapo Kakko to an exclusive autograph trading card agreement. As a result of the unique partnership, Panini America will have the exclusive rights to produce autographed rookie cards of Kakko, selected No. 2 overall by the New York Rangers in the 2019 NHL Draft. Many of those cards will be available to … [Read more...]
Collector Files Class Action Suit Over Redemption Cards
Redemption cards have always been a hot button issue between trading card makers and those who buy their products. When players don’t send their cards back in time for release, the manufacturers still what’s essentially an IOU in the product for that particular autograph. Sometimes it’s fulfilled quickly. Other times, it can drag on for months—or even years. … [Read more...]
Panini in New Partnership with eSports Giant Complexity
Panini America has become the first major trading card company to strike a partnership with an esports organization. While that might mean trading cards featuring some well-known gamers, the deal with Complexity Gaming of Dallas is about much more than that. The expectation is that the deal will help Panini grow its business with a younger audience that likes … [Read more...]
Panini Lands Notre Dame for Trading Card Deal
Four years ago, Panini America announced a series of deals that essentially gave it a monopoly on the licensing of college-themed trading cards. The lone holdout among major schools was Notre Dame, which had signed a contract with Upper Deck just months before. Now you can put the Irish in Panini’s stable, too. The school has signed an exclusive multi-year trading … [Read more...]
Notes: The Athletic Visits Panini; Wagner Update; Charity Jersey Auctions; Holiday Sales
The Athletic published a story about Panini America this week, discussing the company’s exclusive licenses with the NBA, NFL and most college sports programs as well as its exclusive autograph agreements with athletes. After 50 years with Topps, the NFL gave an exclusive deal to Panini a few years ago and the NBA has done the same. Topps just renewed its deal with MLB. … [Read more...]
Brady, Rookie RBs Top Panini-NFLPA 4th-Quarter Trading Card Index
Panini America and the NFL Players Association recently unveiled its quarterly NFLPA Trading Card Index, which ranks the top-performing football players in the licensed trading card industry. This latest index ranks the cards from the fourth quarter of 2017. Each quarter, the top 15 rookies and top 15 veterans are ranked based on several key factors, including … [Read more...]
Panini Signs Saquon Barkley to Card, Memorabilia Deal
Where he’ll play pro football is still a mystery but Panini America is banking on Saquon Barkley. The company announced an exclusive agreement with the former Penn State running back on Monday, one that will put his autograph on trading cards and his signed memorabilia on Panini’s website. Expected to be one of the top picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, Barkley is the … [Read more...]
Notes: CNBC on Cypres Collection; Panini Chat; Starr’s Big Donation; Series Program Art
We’ve written about the collection of Gary Cypres, a former investment banker who grew up in New York but now own the Sports Museum of Los Angeles, which has been open on and off for several years. Cypres’ collection of memorabilia from virtually every sport includes a T206 Wagner and thousands of other rare cards, a Jackie Robinson game-worn jersey and hundreds of other … [Read more...]