If you havent been on Twitter today, Panini made the announcement at the national convention that they had acquired rights to the NFLPA exclusive starting in 2016. We already knew that though, as the rumor had been all but confirmed on twitter over the last few weeks.
I have already posted two lengthy explanations of why this is bad, and you can read them at the links below.
Twitter Hints at Panini NFL Exclusive – Could This Be the Hobby’s Worst Nightmare?
Futher Implications of a Possible Panini NFL Exclusive
Similarly, there is a second part of this announcement that is floating around that Im sure will come either later this week or sometime in the near future. Dont worry, no more exclusives are coming – yet, but there is another license up in the air that Panini looks to have secured a part of. Scary thing is, it only puts them one step closer to their eventual goal of eliminating all competition in the market.
Here is what you need to know:
- Starting in 2016, NFLPA exclusive rights will be given to Panini
- Although NFLP License which controls logos and uniforms is not exclusive yet, its very difficult to operate without the full NFLPA cooperation
- They have been granted room to expand their product line past the number they had in the last few years
- Topps will likely be out of football cards for the length of the license
- This is unusual in the way they went about doing this – as usually the PA follows the league license, not the other way around
- Make your voice heard by tweeting @NFLPA, @NFLPlayersInc and @NFL
The scary thing is, I spoke about cash flow in a previous article (above), and how Panini presents a level of stability in that regard. With that stability comes the notion that they can spend enough money on licenses that it almost makes it a foregone conclusion that they will shoot for the stars when other licenses come up. Baseball will come eventually, and without NFL revenue and the things that come with it, its possible Topps may not be able to outbid them. Considering they are already in a situation where they need money, it could get worse earlier rather than later.
Everyone seems to think that Panini will want to buy Topps or buy Upper Deck, but I am not sure if its that simple – especially when the company value and worth can be cheapened through pot shots at their licensing situations. Panini’s people are rumored to be more concerned with eliminating them than buying them.
So, officially, 2015 will be the last chance you have to buy any Topps Football products licensed by the NFLPA. Although Topps Football isnt quite dead yet, its definitely on life support and I could not be more distraught about that.
If history is any indication, people are probably right. Panini better buy UD and/or Topps. That’s the kind of thing that comes back to bite you in the ass a couple decades later. Just ask Coca-Cola about that thing where they had the chance to buy out Pepsi during bankruptcy in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Screwed the pooch on that one for a few hundred billion in market share these days…
@NFLPA, @NFLPlayersInc and @NFL THEY ARE COMPLETELY NUTS!!!!! THIS JUST MIGHT BE THE STRAW THAT BREAKS THE CAMEL’S BACK. I SAY BOYCOTT PANINI NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT LATER!!!!!!!!!!!!
SON OF A BITCH…excuse my french.
My football collecting days might come to a screeching halt. I started with UD and Topps in 2009. After 2015, I will be stuck with Panini? ONLY Panini? If that’s what I have to collect they better step their game up big time. The stuff they put out in 2012 was pretty decent, but I highly doubt they would make that level of product consistently. I am so mad right now. Topps is AMERICANA. Football is the new pastime. Topps Football is an iconic set. Could Topps get another license last second like they did in 2010?
Didn’t UD have a NFLAPA license to do their NCAA sets? Does that mean we won’t get those either?
It’s comical how Panini’s CEO states on their Blog how they are honored to have “Earned” this exclusive long –term agreement with NFL players Inc. when they actually BOUGHT the long term deal from their new partners, the Ravenous folks @ NFL Players Inc. . You would think the NFL Players Inc. is headquartered in Washington, DC., when orchestrating deals like that. Oh wait, they are in DC…
So SHAME ON THE NFL PLAYERS INC for signing into this deal! NFL Players Inc. is looking out for # 1, and it’s surely not with the sports fans of football trading card collecting! Let’s just go backwards and back to the old AFL and NFL days and not allow ANY competition in the sport at all. We don’t need competition to push an Organization to produce its best, if you are the only “exclusive license” left standing, there’s no worry, no game plan against the competition.
When you get pass the large sum of $$ NFL Players Inc and your excessive drooling over the deal.., you might just realize how YOU failed card collectors and the future of Football card collecting, no matter what flavor of bull you were fed by Panini.
When you go to panini and read their blog and the comments by NFLPI President Keith Gordon it makes me wonder what he was shown in the presentation…
“We feel very confident in Panini America’s ability to deliver quality and value to consumers at all levels, while providing long-term stability to the football trading card category,” said NFLPI President Keith Gordon. “Significant investments in product innovation, quality, authenticity and creative player marketing have endeared Panini to the existing fan base, while actively cultivating the next generation of collectors.”
These statements dont match with anything that I know about panini products. Maybe he means they are going to make future investments in innovation and quality etc…
After 25 years of collecting I feel I really only have one decision… Have a collection that focuses on 2015 and prior or am I just going to go out all the way because I cant imagine a scenario that panini products get better when they are the only game in town
WOW !!! This is deva-stating to the Hobby… The Hobby has shifted and is clearly a dying breed…. I have been in this Hobby 40+ years…. The last of the last is collected and cherished is Vintage Topps Baseball, FOOTBALL , etc…. Where is the value in the Hobby… most definitely not in this garbage PANINI era… mass produced cards making you think oh boy #d to 25… except that there are three different poses, 5 different colors, and -and -and etc… we all know this is nothing more than a modern day gimmick !!! The hobby will suffer a major blow because of this !!! PSA / BGS this will kill you in the future… what a slap in the face to millions of Iconic Pop Culture collectors and there collections !!! This clearly puts my collection and probably several other millions into retirement !!! I would say that maybe 1% of the Panini product produced has any secondary market value… As a matter fact since they started making football cards we probably have about 5 Contenders rookies that have touched the hobby… other than that 99.9% of all the retail dollars anyone spends on Panini is like burning your money !!! I hope The NFLPA realizes that when everyone who is 40 yrs old+ in this hobby hangs it up… the kids taking our place are very scarce these days, YOU have just made it 1000% worse on a dying industry !!! By the way take a stroll thru the National Sports Convention the past 5-8 years… besides the big companies and the few idiots selling wax 10% over cost, who is left….not to mention the attendance is awful and there are hardly any KIDS with there dads…. truth hurts this hobby is DOOMED !!! BYE BYE !!!
Well, I will say this, you don’t have to be 40+ years old to not like this deal. I’m younger and collected for a brief time when I was just a kid, now i’m 30 and got back into collecting last year. The best cards that I see on the market are mostly from Topps. PEOPLE WANT AUTOGRAPHED REFRACTORS!! And yeah, those come from Topps. I can’t imagine going into a card shop and not being able to buy Topps Chrome and Bowman Chrome. Chrome technology was the innovation that I believe Panini is searching for and Topps brought it to us nearly 2 decades ago, and they have sold like hotcakes ever since. Very dissapointing news. Buying singles out of Contenders may be the only way to go now. Flawless and NT are way overpriced for what you get. True collector’s don’t want to pay that much for just a couple of cards from an unopened box. Major dissapointment. Good Bye Refractors…..