Panini inks exclusive deals with three major universities

Panini America announced Thursday that they have signed exclusive agreements with three universities to use their trademarks in the company’s trading card products. The three schools are the University of Georgia, the University of Kentucky and the University of Miami. The schools will be featured in Panini NFL, MLBPA and NBA trading card products starting in 2015.

Panini added that they will be announcing agreements with other schools in the coming weeks

“This is a significant announcement not just for us, but for the entire trading card industry,” said Panini America CEO Mark Warsop in a company press release. “Some of the most collectible players that we work with across all sports are closely associated with these three universities and we’re genuinely excited to be able to honor their collegiate accomplishments in our products.”

“College sports fans are some of the most rabid and loyal fans on the planet,” said Jason Howarth, Panini America Vice President of Marketing. “We are looking forward to creating meaningful marketing activations with our collegiate partners to establish a deeper connection to college sports fans and the universities they root for.”

Panini will be exclusive trading card rightsholder for the NFLPA starting in 2016.