Nfl players renews trading card agreements with panini, upper deck

[AtlantaSportsCards]

NFL PLAYERS RENEWS TRADING CARD AGREEMENTS WITH PANINI, UPPER DECK

By Liz Mullen, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

NFL Players, the NFLPA's marketing and licensing arm, has agreed to renew the trading card licenses for Panini and Upper Deck for the '10 and '11 seasons. The organization formerly had issued four licenses to Panini, Upper Deck, Topps and Press Pass, but it made a conscious decision to reduce the number of licenses because of "the saturation of the trading card industry," said NFL Players President Keith Gordon. "There are too many products out there," he added.
Gordon would not reveal financial terms of the deals but said the license deals for the '10 and '11 seasons would increase even though there are two fewer licenses that were granted. Gordon: "The deals are structured so there is an increase in overall revenue, which means license fee and overall player compensation."
The NHLPA and NHL earlier this week also announced multi-year trading card licensing agreements with Panini and Upper Deck.