The Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) has unveiled a major, multi-year deal renewal with Panini America, a division of the collectables heavyweight.
This deal – which Panini has described as "the most lucrative licensing partnership ever for women athletes" – was facilitated by OneTeam Partners, the US licensing firm that is the WNBPA's exclusive group licensing partner.
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The renewal gives Panini more exclusive rights across "physical, digital, and on-demand trading card platforms," the brand has said, and is also – it has been claimed – set to deliver record royalties to WNBA players.
Panini will continue as the exclusive WNBPA player trading card licensee, as well as expand its investment in sectors such as player marketing, product innovation, autograph deals, as well as sponsorship of events. These events will include 'WNBPA Rookie Premiere', a "business showcase for the league's marketable new talents."
The WNBPA reclaimed its licensing rights from the WNBA in 2018, and then struck its first exclusive partnership (based around trading cards) with Panini the following year.
It is important to note that this tie-up is separate from the deal between Panini and the WNBA itself.
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By GlobalDataTerri Carmichael Jackson, executive director at the WNBPA, has said: "Panini gets our athletes and the value they bring to basketball and sports culture. They have been invested partners every step of the way, and now we’re ready to deliver even more of the moments and products fans are demanding from the women who drive this sport.”
The WNBPA is currently in the middle of Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations with the WNBA, with a 30-day deadline extension having been confirmed at the end of October (the existing CBA had been due to expire on November 1).
Over the last few days, various media outlets have reported that the league's latest proposals on that front still fall short of WNBPA expectations.
Mark Warsop, Panini America's chief executive, added: "Collaborating with the WNBPA has shown how strong this market can be, and we are excited to keep innovating and expanding our product offerings for fans and collectors everywhere."
Panini has claimed that over the last six years, it has driven sales of players' trading cards in the WNBA "up more than one hundredfold," as that league and its stars have seen their popularity in general rise significantly.
For the men's NBA (and the NBPA), that league's deal with Panini expired at the start of October, with the rights taken over by Topps. GlobalData Sport has valued the new Topps-NBA deal as worth $8 million annually.
