Interest in trading card collecting — which, like many hobbies, was rejuvenated during the pandemic lockdowns — is still going strong, with consumer sales of cards on both the primary and secondary markets on the rise. As a result, sports and entertainment properties continue to actively forge agreements in the category. Following are some of […]
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Playing for Keeps in the Sports Card Sector
Interest in trading cards featuring women’s sports leagues, teams, and athletes is on rise, and so are licensing deals in this space. This month, Upper Deck announced an agreement with University of Iowa basketball player Caitlin Clark, while Panini said it would be creating cards for the new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), to name […]
Wrestling Groups Pin Down New Deals
Last week WWE announced a multifaceted partnership with Fanatics. This is just the latest in a string of initiatives that have surfaced in the past year or so involving wrestling-related IP. Properties and brands at the forefront include: WWE. Its long-term, global deal with Fanatics encompasses e-commerce (including a reintroduction of the WWE Shop); licensed […]
Trading Card Transformations
The trading card industry has been experiencing a number of changes this year, from skyrocketing interest in collecting, to decades-long licensing agreements changing hands, to the emergence of new opportunities including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and collegiate name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. Some of the key trends to watch: A pandemic-fueled rise in popularity. Interest […]
The Ball Is In Collegiate Athletes’ Court
College athletes have been able to capitalize on their names, images, and likenesses (NIL) for less than a month, as the NCAA, on July 1, suspended its NIL rules. They are quickly taking advantage of the new opportunities. The process of getting to this point began back in 2009 when former UCLA basketball player Ed […]
Fighting the Good Fight
Mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes have been actively entering into partnerships for apparel and other categories, or launching their own merchandise programs, in 2020 and 2021: Conor McGregor launched an apparel collaboration early this month with Roots of Fight, including t-shirts as well as a hoodie, a thermal shirt, and sweatpants. The collection was available […]