BACKALABAMA QUARTERBACK KEELON RUSSELL SIGNS FIRST NIL DEAL WITH PANINI AMERICA FOR EXCLUSIVE AUTOGRAPH TRADING CARDS
Irving, TX – January 8, 2025 – Panini America, the world’s largest sports and entertainment collectibles company announced today an exclusive, multi-year autographed trading card agreement with University of Alabama Quarterback, Keelon Russell of Duncanville (TX) High School. The agreement is Russell’s first NIL deal since finishing his season with Duncanville and enrolling at the University of Alabama.
Russell was named the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year after throwing for more than 4,100 yards and 55 passing touchdowns and 3 rushing touchdowns in leading Duncanville to a 13-1 record and a berth in the Texas 6A Division I Semi Final. In the 2023 season, Russell had 38 passing touchdowns and 6 rushing touchdowns as Duncanville went undefeated and won the state championship.
Russell will be featured in Panini’s line of collegiate trading card products and will take part in a number of Panini marketing activations.
“With Keelon being from right here in the Dallas area, we’ve had the opportunity to follow his high school career closely. Keelon is a dynamic player on-the-field and off-the-field,” said Jason Howarth, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Athlete Relations at Panini America. “We look forward to supporting Keelon as he moves on to Alabama and bringing Keelon’s trading cards to his fans through our products.”
Russell joins former Alabama QB and NFL Draft prospect, Jalen Milroe, Ohio State signee Tavien St. Clair, another highly ranked high school quarterback, Texas QB Quinn Ewers, Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola, Texas QB Arch Manning, Zachariah Branch, Ohio State QB Julian Sayin and Florida WR commit Vernell Brown III as collegiate and high school football standouts who have exclusive partnerships with Panini.
“Being able to partner with a leader in the sports collectibles space like Panini is exciting. Seeing the quality of the products that Panini produces and all the things they have done for other NIL athletes – I knew they were the right fit for me,” said Russell. “I can’t wait to start working with them and seeing my first trading cards.”
This partnership with Russell is the latest extension of Panini’s leadership in the NIL space. Panini recently introduced Panini College, a dedicated NIL platform that allows all athletes at a partner university to have their own Panini trading card under the Panini NIL brand. The platform launched initially with football and volleyball athletes at Ohio State University, the University of Nebraska, and the University of Texas, with plans to expand to additional partner schools and sports over the coming months.
About Panini America
Panini America is a subsidiary of The Panini Group, established over 60 years ago in Modena, Italy with subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States. Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectibles and is the most significant publisher of collectibles in the U.S., with official licenses for NFL, NFLPA, NBA, NBPA, NASCAR, FIFA, LIV Golf, the Professional Fighters League, College, Disney, and other key properties from many other licensors. Panini is also the exclusive trading card and sticker partner of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Elite 11 and Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc.
Panini has distribution channels in more than 150 countries and employs a staff of over 1,200. For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net, www.paninigroup.com or
http://blog.paniniamerica.net/. You can also follow Panini America on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
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