BACKPANINI AMERICA ENTERS INTO MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH BIG3 BASKETBALL LEAGUE FOR EXCLUSIVE TRADING CARDS
Irving, TX – June 15, 2026 – Panini America, a subsidiary of the Panini Group, the world’s largest sports and entertainment collectibles company, announced today an exclusive, multi-year partnership with BIG3, the premier global 3-on-3 basketball league.
As the Official Trading Card partner of BIG3, Panini will offer cards throughout the BIG3 season, beginning with the June 20th season openers, via their Instant Card platform on the Panini America website. Panini will develop standalone BIG3 trading card products, as well as incorporate BIG3 athletes into existing Panini basketball product lines. The partnership will also see a number of key strategic marketing initiatives between Panini and the BIG3 as it begins its ninth season.
Panini will be integrated into BIG3 broadcasts on CBS and BET, including offering in-game Panini Instant Card purchase opportunities via a QR code during designated games. The brand will also have a presence on the jerseys of four BIG3 teams this season – the Boston Ball Hogs, Chicago Triplets, Dallas Power, and DMV Trilogy.
“Led by the vision of Ice Cube, its co-founder and CEO, BIG3 basketball has continued to capture and grow its audience,” Jason Howarth, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Athlete Relations at Panini America. “The BIG3 is an exciting basketball league built around the popular 3-on-3 format making for a dynamic and exciting game. Our goal for this new partnership with the team at BIG3 is to help amplify that growth by creating innovative products that celebrate the league and its athletes and are compelling to basketball fans.”
“BIG3 has always been about authenticity, real hoops, real competition, and real connection with the fans,” Ice Cube, Co-Founder and CEO of the BIG3, said. “Panini gets that. They have been capturing the biggest moments in sports for decades, and now they are helping us capture ours. These cards are not just collectibles, they are part of the culture we are building, and this partnership lets fans hold a piece of that in their hands.”
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 WNBA, WNBAPA, NASCAR, FIFA, the NWSL and NWSLPA, Unrivaled, 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 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.
About BIG3:
On January 11, 2017, the BIG3 was born. The first-ever professional FIREBALL3 league is the brainchild of producer, actor, and music legend Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz, who shared a vision of a player-centric league focused on entertainment and innovation. The BIG3 is a league with no garbage minutes, where trash talk is allowed, defense is emphasized, fast-paced action, and where every point –whether it’s a 4-point or 3-point shot – counts. Any given BIG3 team has hall of famers, icons and trailblazers, and the next best 3-on-3 player.
The league has led the sports industry in diversity and opportunity, becoming the first professional sports league to implement a mental health policy, favor CBD as a pain management alternative to opioids, enlist female coaches of men, and appoint a black Commissioner in Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, who is also professional sports first former player serving as Commissioner. The inaugural CEO was the legendary, incomparable Raider executive Amy Trask. This January 2024, BIG3 co-founder Ice Cube was honored at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, where he received the inaugural Ice Cube Impact Award, acknowledging individuals making substantial contributions to their community, the first non-player to be recognized. Founders Ice Cube and Jeffrey Kwatinetz are missioned to better society as BIG3 pursues business success while also helping to break down stereotypes, promote diversity in sports, create opportunities for black, brown, and female athletes beyond the court, and support the black, youth and basketball communities overall.
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CONTACTS:
Taylor Strategy
