The WNBPA\u2019s timing in renewing its trading card license with Panini America as it negotiates with the WNBA for a new collective bargaining agreement is largely coincidental, but the details of the deal show how league players have increased their sway in recent years.<\/p>\n
Financial terms of the multiyear tie-up were not disclosed, though the parties described it as the most lucrative licensing agreement in women\u2019s sports history. That\u2019s no shock. According to sources familiar with the matter, WNBA trading card sales have grown more than 100 times since Panini took over the business in 2019, reaching into the mid-eight figures (between $10 million and $100 million) annually.<\/p>\n
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Maximizing group licensing rights was one of the priorities players put in front of Terri Carmichael Jackson when she took over as WNBPA executive director in 2016. The union reclaimed its group licensing rights from the league in 2018 and in 2021 joined OneTeam Partners, which represents athletes including the MLBPA, MLSPA, NFLPA and NWSLPA. OneTeam facilitated the latest renewal as well.<\/p>\n
Card licensing deals generally operate on a royalty-based structure with yearly minimum guarantees. The NFLPA and MLBPA earn between $50 million and $100 million in royalties each year, according to recent tax filings.\u00a0Leagues sign their own IP licensing deals with card makers; the WNBA\u2019s deal with Panini is not yet up for renewal.<\/p>\n
Licensing deals represent one of the largest sources of income for unions, alongside player dues. Within the category, trading cards and video games often represent some of the most valuable rights. That money can then be used as a backstop, as PAs stare down potential work stoppages in negotiations with leagues.\u00a0In 2021, then-NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith told\u00a0The Wall Street Journal\u00a0that the reason OneTeam was set up was \u201cthe leverage that it was designed to give our unions and our other membership unions.\u201d WNBA CBA conversations continue ahead of a Nov. 30 deadline.<\/p>\n
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WNBA card sales benefited from both exploding interest in the league and the expansion of the broader card industry in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe growth of that business \u2026 has been nothing short of awesome from a quality of product standpoint and of course from a dollar standpoint,\u201d OneTeam Partners head of consumer products licensing Ricky Medina said in an interview. \u201cWe\u2019re still tip-of-the-iceberg in terms of the size of the business relative to how big it can get.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fanatics Collectibles\u2019 entrance further increased the demand for licensing rights. Fanatics-owned Topps NBA cards debuted this year, with NFL cards coming in 2026. Recent years have seen what\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0described<\/a>\u00a0as \u201can all-out corporate war\u201d between Fanatics and Panini.<\/p>\n Panini has locked down exclusive autograph deals with recent rookie stars Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese as it deepened its investment in women\u2019s sports cards. In July, a unique Clark autographed card sold for a category record\u00a0$660,000<\/a>. Panini head of marketing Jason Howarth said the WNBA card business has grown just as fast with traditional card collectors as with those new to the hobby, drawn in by the league\u2019s stars.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The new deal includes expanded commitments from Panini toward player marketing and event sponsorships.<\/p>\n \u2014Daniel Libit and Eben Novy-Williams contributed reporting<\/p>\n Best of Sportico.com<\/p>\n Sign up for Sportico’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The WNBPA\u2019s timing in renewing its trading card license with Panini America as it negotiates with the WNBA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303531,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[12549,6570,157732,157729,99,157731,157730,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-303530","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-collective-bargaining-agreement","9":"tag-financial-terms","10":"tag-mlbpa","11":"tag-panini-america","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-terri-carmichael-jackson","14":"tag-trading-card","15":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}