Panini America Inks Multiyear Trading Card Pact with National Baseball ...

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Panini America Inks Multiyear Trading Card Pact with National Baseball Hall of Fame



Panini America, the world’s largest sports and entertainment collectibles company, announced today that it has reached a multiyear trading card agreement with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum beginning with the 2012 season.

The deal grants Panini America the trading cards rights to use all Hall of Fame inductees as well as all Hall of Fame marks, artifacts and induction ceremony images in six of the company’s baseball card sets per year.


This agreement continues to significantly bolster Panini America’s presence in baseball and comes on the heels of the company securing a trading card license with Major League Baseball Players Association in September. It is the third relationship Panini has secured with a sports Hall of Fame, adding to their existing relationships with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and The Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum represents the greatest players and personalities the sport has ever known and this partnership will help us bring that level of unparalleled excellence to our products,” said Panini America CEO Mark Warsop. “The trading cards we make utilizing this license will no doubt be Hall of Fame worthy.”

“We’ve been impressed with how quickly Panini America has established its leadership position in the sports collectibles arena since coming to the U.S. in 2009, and we’re thrilled with the prospects of this relationship,” said Sean Gahagan, Retail and Licensing Vice President for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “Their creativity and innovation are second to none, and we’re eager to see the new product releases for the coming year.”

PaniniAmerica’s first incorporation of the new license will come with the release of the company’s 2011 Prime Cuts Baseball product, due out in March.

Panini America is the only company in the world that manufactures fully licensed trading cards and stickers for the NBA, NFL, NFL PLAYERS, NHL, NHLPA, MLBPA and FIFA World Cup. The company also owns exclusive entertainment licenses with Disney, Justin Bieber and Michael Jackson, and more than 600 global licenses with other sports and entertainment properties.