Panini America and the WNBA players' association have agreed to a new licensing deal, the company announced Thursday. The deal is the largest licensing deal on record for a women's sports rightsholder, according to Panini and confirmed by a source familiar with the negotiations to ESPN.
The new agreement, which amounts to an extension between the partners, extends Panini America's exclusive licensing deal for WNBA collectibles, including trading cards, and rewards the players with increased revenue generated by the sale of collectibles across Prizm, Donruss, Select and National Treasures, along with Panini Instant and its digital platform. A source confirmed to ESPN that Panini's previous trading card deal with the players' association included revenue sharing via royalties on sales, and the new deal includes a bigger share of the sales.
The women's sports collectibles market has seen unprecedented growth over the past several years, spurred by WNBA stars such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers. (Panini has exclusive trading card and memorabilia partnerships with Clark and Reese; Bueckers has an exclusive trading card deal with Panini but signed an exclusive memorabilia deal with Fanatics in early November.)
"This renewal is about the players and the power of what we've built together," WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said in a statement. "Panini has been with us as we've pushed the women's game forward and their products show the reach and impact of our players in ways that feel real."
This deal is solely between Panini and the WNBA players' association; the league's deal with Panini is still active and unaffected by this extension. The WNBPA is in negotiations for a new CBA with the WNBA ahead of a deadline that has been extended to Nov. 30.
Although the length and monetary value of the deal were not announced, according to a source familiar with financials, WNBA trading cards net "mid-eight figures annually" for Panini.
"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 America CEO Mark Warsop said in a statement.