Panini Inks Blake Griffin, Four Others to Exclusive Contracts

Ysponder

Panini America officials confirmed on Wednesday that the company has inked five of the NBA’s top draft prospects, including projected No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin, to exclusive trading card agreements.

In addition to Griffin, the 6-10 forward from Oklahoma who was largely considered the best player in the country in 2008-09, Panini confirmed deals with Tyler Hansbrough (UNC), Jordan Hill (Arizona), Brandon Jennings (Lottomatica Virtus Roma, Italy) and Hasheem Thabeet (UCONN).

The players and their autographs will be featured in all 2009-10 Panini NBA card products, beginning with Prestige in October; they’ll also appear on select packaging and advertisements throughout the year.

“Blake, Tyler, Jordan, Brandon, and Hasheem are all special players who we believe will have great careers in the NBA,” said Panini America President Mike Eisenstein. “Rookies are a key part of the trading card business and we’re excited that fans will have the opportunity to receive autographed cards of these great players exclusively in Panini packs. As we look forward to beginning our first year as the NBA’s exclusive trading card partner, it was important for us to build around great basketball players and great people. We feel strongly that these five will make a positive impact both on and off the court.”

In January 2009, the Panini Group announced it will become the exclusive trading card partner of the NBA beginning with the 2009-10 season. The Panini Group purchased the industry’s second-oldest trading card company Donruss in March 2009 and formed the new subsidiary, Panini America, Inc.

Stay tuned to beckett.com for more on this story.