IF Fanatics buys Panini, what brands will we see?

[jduds]

If Fanatics buys Panini as the scuttlebutt seems seems to be alleging, there would be 60+ licensed sets if Fanatics puts out the full run of Topps and Panini cards. I can't see that happening. I'm guessing closer to 30 or so for each sport. This means a lot of brands are destined for the chopping block. High end Topps seems a likely starting place as the Panini versions are nicer/highly regarded. Here's my quick list of how I think the sets will play out. Note, I didn't put Series 2 or Update versions of any of these on the list. Also, I'm sure I missed a few sets so just mention the ones I forgot and I'll just admit to being an uneducated goober from the start and we can skip the whole internet song and dance.

Locks: Absolute, Bowman, Bowman Chrome, Contenders, Finest, Flawless, Heritage, National Treasure, Optic, Prizm, Stadium Club, Topps, Topps Chrome, Topps Sapphire
Very Likely: Allen & Ginter, Chronicles, Definitive, Diamond Kings, Donruss, Elite, Eminence, Immaculate, Mosaic, Museum Collection, One, Select, Score, Triple Threads
Toss-Ups: 5-Star, Clearly, Clearly Authentic, Finest Flashbacks, Gold Label, Gypsy Queen, Inception, Obsidian, Opening Day, Pristine, Rookies & Stars, Stadium Club Chrome, Spectra, T206, Topps Chrome Black
Doubtful: Archives, Big League, Bowman Sterling, Brooklyn, Dynasty, Elements, Encased, Gallery, Gold Standard, Illusions, Impeccable, Legacy, Luminance, Phoenix, Playbook, Playoff, Topps Chrome Ben Baller, Tribute, Zenith

[KhalDrogo]

Agree that the number of sets will be consolidated. Much easier on every step of production, from inception to distribution. But that means higher print runs so that Fanatics can meet the production goals set by the leagues (assuming there are quotas). Fanatics will have to find the right sets to produce more of, and production increases that the market will tolerate.

[whitmm]

Agree that the number of sets will be consolidated. Much easier on every step of production, from inception to distribution. But that means higher print runs so that Fanatics can meet the production goals set by the leagues (assuming there are quotas). Fanatics will have to find the right sets to produce more of, and production increases that the market will tolerate.

The way I've understood the licensing is that the companies were contracted to release a certain number of products each year, not a certain number of cards.

So, the number of products wasn't a decision of Panini or Topps, but came from trying to meet the demands of either the leagues or the player's associations.

[Triple B]

The Leagues are part owners now. The answer to the initial question of "which brands will we see?" is "YES".

[ThoseBackPages]

all the brands

[Stech36]

Licensed Flawless and the insets (color blast, stained glass, downtown, etc.) would be awesome. Couldn’t care less about the rest of paninis brands.

[PuddleMonkey]

scuttlebutt?

[estebahn73]

Eminence led by Trout, Ohtani, Judge, Soto, Acuna and Julio in their actual pro uniforms and charging $30K a case...... I won't touch them but they WILL be sold out

[dashcol]

scuttlebutt?

Scuttlebutt is a Navy term for drinking fountain, so scuttlebutt is a way to say a rumor.

Aka heard at the water fountain.

[SaltyCracker]

Hopefully we start to see odds on the Panini packs. Would love to get an idea of print runs for some of the “case hits”.

[renlow]

why would they change the broken model as they force people to buy it if you want the good stuff.

1) you are going to see way more cards in the LIDS stores
2) how is stuff going to be distributed...if it is the fanatics web-site good luck with that as it can take forever to get a t-shirt from them as it is
3) Rumor has it that there will be 12 exclusive breakers that will also be able to sell product direct...think prices are high now wait until these breakers become the distributors...personally i dont see it happening as most dont have the capacity to store product and process orders.
4) Good luck to the brick and mortar stores as the process to get approved to buy direct is very challenging from what i have heard from some stores and i would expect to be that way if i have 12 exclusive distributors and i want to force you to buy from them...

Having one company do it all is not going to be good for the hobby and eventually something will have to change...I am going to pivot and focus on vintage...

[PuddleMonkey]

Scuttlebutt is a Navy term for drinking fountain, so scuttlebutt is a way to say a rumor.

Aka heard at the water fountain.

I know I'm just shocked someone in this day and age is using the term.

[Blake050]

It will be interesting to see what they do with products that are similar. Prizm/Topps Chrome being the first that comes to mind.

[whitmm]

It will be interesting to see what they do with products that are similar. Prizm/Topps Chrome being the first that comes to mind.

Personally, I'm in the camp of them not merging the companies. I think Panini will still release Prizm and Topps will still release Chrome.

[rogueriver]

This is going to be like 1987 All over again, the only difference is it will be controlled by one company, this will not end well

[fulltritty]

Personally, I'm in the camp of them not merging the companies. I think Panini will still release Prizm and Topps will still release Chrome.

The question will be can the market handle more people wanting to buy both Topps and Panini products now seeing as how the "no license, I don't want it" crowd would no longer have that excuse. I really enjoy some of Panini's products like Prizm and Optic and would be looking forward to finally getting them with logos.

[SoccerRCs]

If Fanatics buys Panini as the scuttlebutt seems seems to be alleging, there would be 60+ licensed sets if Fanatics puts out the full run of Topps and Panini cards. I can't see that happening. I'm guessing closer to 30 or so for each sport. This means a lot of brands are destined for the chopping block. High end Topps seems a likely starting place as the Panini versions are nicer/highly regarded. Here's my quick list of how I think the sets will play out. Note, I didn't put Series 2 or Update versions of any of these on the list. Also, I'm sure I missed a few sets so just mention the ones I forgot and I'll just admit to being an uneducated goober from the start and we can skip the whole internet song and dance.

Locks: Absolute, Bowman, Bowman Chrome, Contenders, Finest, Flawless, Heritage, National Treasure, Optic, Prizm, Stadium Club, Topps, Topps Chrome, Topps Sapphire
Very Likely: Allen & Ginter, Chronicles, Definitive, Diamond Kings, Donruss, Elite, Eminence, Immaculate, Mosaic, Museum Collection, One, Select, Score, Triple Threads
Toss-Ups: 5-Star, Clearly, Clearly Authentic, Finest Flashbacks, Gold Label, Gypsy Queen, Inception, Obsidian, Opening Day, Pristine, Rookies & Stars, Stadium Club Chrome, Spectra, T206, Topps Chrome Black
Doubtful: Archives, Big League, Bowman Sterling, Brooklyn, Dynasty, Elements, Encased, Gallery, Gold Standard, Illusions, Impeccable, Legacy, Luminance, Phoenix, Playbook, Playoff, Topps Chrome Ben Baller, Tribute, Zenith

Great thread. Love your list. I'd say from your toss ups, it's hard for me to see Obsidian or Spectra disappearing. Those seem like they should be in the very likely category.

[Raleigh504]

Hopefully they will use different pictures for the products vs. how topps uses the same one for each release in a given year.

I think some brands would merge together, the ones that don't sell well or that are not applicable to the other sports (like opening day). My assumption would be that they do it across the board for all sports for each brand. I guess Bowman would be like how they did this past year with college uniforms with the 1st logo to be similar to current MLB Bowman as the players first card.

[OhioLawyerF5]

All I can say is that the Chronicles set will be MASSIVE!

[jcmint]

Good post!! I agree


why would they change the broken model as they force people to buy it if you want the good stuff.

1) you are going to see way more cards in the LIDS stores
2) how is stuff going to be distributed...if it is the fanatics web-site good luck with that as it can take forever to get a t-shirt from them as it is
3) Rumor has it that there will be 12 exclusive breakers that will also be able to sell product direct...think prices are high now wait until these breakers become the distributors...personally i dont see it happening as most dont have the capacity to store product and process orders.
4) Good luck to the brick and mortar stores as the process to get approved to buy direct is very challenging from what i have heard from some stores and i would expect to be that way if i have 12 exclusive distributors and i want to force you to buy from them...



Having one company do it all is not going to be good for the hobby and eventually something will have to change...I am going to pivot and focus on vintage...

[dantheman514]

Anyone else excited about the possibility of Prizm Sapphire?

[jduds]

I know I'm just shocked someone in this day and age is using the term.

I blame the Dragon Quest series of videogames.

[THE(NEXT)LEVEL]

Well whatever they do, they are going to print away to make their investments back…..and/or jack up the prices.

[OneSickDegen]

Anyone else excited about the possibility of Prizm Sapphire?

As long as someone else takes the L on the sealed box and sells me the singles, yes.

[Brad9187]

I hope they drop at least 33% of the brands. I think they should keep Chronicles and you can always add some of the brands in their and keep them some what relevant if you want to incubate them to see if they can regain their relevance.

[cruiserdaddy7]

Well whatever they do, they are going to print away to make their investments back…..and/or jack up the prices.

High levels of both. Industry won't be recognizable in 5 years.

[whitmm]

The question will be can the market handle more people wanting to buy both Topps and Panini products now seeing as how the "no license, I don't want it" crowd would no longer have that excuse. I really enjoy some of Panini's products like Prizm and Optic and would be looking forward to finally getting them with logos.

What market? The resale market? Fanatics will have no problem printing more cards. The unlicensed Panini market is plenty healthy right now and should have no problem meeting the influx of new buyers.

[fulltritty]

What market? The resale market? Fanatics will have no problem printing more cards. The unlicensed Panini market is plenty healthy right now and should have no problem meeting the influx of new buyers.

The box buying market. There seems to be a lot of people on here that don't like nor buy Panini because of the cards not having logos. If they all of a sudden have logos, would those people be able to afford to continue their Topps purchases and start buying Panini or would their Topps box purchases suffer.

[Americards]

I heard they are getting rid of all physical product and just doing digital cards!
Those digital breaks will be awesome!

[whitmm]

The box buying market. There seems to be a lot of people on here that don't like nor buy Panini because of the cards not having logos. If they all of a sudden have logos, would those people be able to afford to continue their Topps purchases and start buying Panini or would their Topps box purchases suffer.

At the end of the day, Fanatics still makes their money, whether they buy Panini products or they buy Topps products.

The rapidly rising prices for boxes the last couple years didn't seem to hurt the market.

Also keep in mind that the leagues and PAs play a big part in how many products are released each year. It's not just Topps/Panini having free will to just release whatever they want, it's in the contract how many products are released each year.

And with the PAs getting equity in Fanatics as part of the deal, they aren't going to push for less products.

[dcaudle68]

PANFAN Cards!!!

[ewokpelts]

The way I've understood the licensing is that the companies were contracted to release a certain number of products each year, not a certain number of cards.

So, the number of products wasn't a decision of Panini or Topps, but came from trying to meet the demands of either the leagues or the player's associations.

That’s from a long gone licensing deal. As the exclusives kept getting locked in, the cap On products went away. That’s why you see so many online exclusives and store exclusives. The companies pay more for the rights(to both the league and PA) so they get to sell whatever they want.

[OneSickDegen]

I despise Panini but I do respect the Obsidian product so I’d be essited for 1st Obsidian chrome sapphire baseball prospect autos

Or perhaps a cheeky atomic refractor

[JeremyNick]

All of them.

Everyone will be bastardized into something else.

Eventually every product will either be paper vomit, chrome vomit or thicc vomit and otherwise will be generally indistinguishable.

[whitmm]

That’s from a long gone licensing deal. As the exclusives kept getting locked in, the cap On products went away. That’s why you see so many online exclusives and store exclusives. The companies pay more for the rights(to both the league and PA) so they get to sell whatever they want.

Found the announcement of Panini getting the exclusive license from the NFL. It stated that Panini was going to begin producing upwards of 30 products, per the license. Yes, the number of products has increased, but that's most likely per the agreement. Highly unlikely that Panini was given free will to create any amount of products it wanted

[Handsome Wes]

The way I've understood the licensing is that the companies were contracted to release a certain number of products each year, not a certain number of cards.

So, the number of products wasn't a decision of Panini or Topps, but came from trying to meet the demands of either the leagues or the player's associations.

…seriously? Huh. ::smacks head::

[theshowandme]

I just hope we get legitimate chase inserts and I am not talking about that Home Field Advantage nonsense

[fabiani12333]

I'm sure fanatics will have a method of determining which products they'll produce. They can look at sales data and social media buzz.

But if I were running Fanatics, I'd try to keep things fresh by cycling in and out different products every year. I'd also focus more on quality than quantity of products. Make base cards more than just paper weights.

But honestly, I dont care anymore because the quality of releases from both Topps and Panini have gone down significantly the last few years, while prices have shot up dramatically.

RIP trading card hobby. Now it's all about the flip game and money laundering.