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Oregon and quarterback Bo Nix are among the school and players that are part of a trading card deal with Fanatics and Topps.
Fanatics Collectibles and Topps announced a deal on Thursday for physical and digital trading cards involving colleges and college athletes, including “both exclusive and non-exclusive co-branded trading card products” that will use university trademarks and current and former players. Oregon is among more than 35 schools Topps announced an exclusive, multi-year deal with to create trading cards combining its trademarks with NIL right of current and former players, with those deals set to take effect between 2023-25.
Terms were not announced.
“Fanatics has been closely monitoring the ever-evolving NIL landscape, and we felt this was the perfect time to launch multiple, strategic college trading card programs that will allow schools and current student-athletes to create new levels of direct engagement with fans across hundreds of the top programs nationwide,” Derek Eiler, executive vice president of Fanatics College said in a release. “There are tremendous opportunities for this untapped area of the hobby and to expand further across the collegiate sports landscape.”
Topps will begin a begin a non-exclusive program for cards with current college football and basketball players, including Nix, 2021 Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young of Alabama, Georgia QB Stetson Bennett and USC QB Caleb Williams, incoming men’s basketball players Dereck Lively II (Duke) and Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas) and women’s basketball national champion Aliyah Boston of South Carolina. These trading cards will be released under Topps’ BowmanU brand starting this fall.
“This collection is the first offering of officially licensed collegiate cards featuring current athlete NIL rights. We’re thrilled at the opportunity to launch these comprehensive programs that combine premier student-athletes and elite institutions to create a best-in-class collegiate trading card product for fans and collectors,” Dave Leiner, Topps global vice president and general manager, said in a statement.