BACKPANINI AMERICA LAUNCHES GROUNDBREAKING NEW COLLEGIATE NIL PLATFORM FOR COLLEGE ATHLETES
PANINI AMERICA LAUNCHES GROUNDBREAKING NEW COLLEGIATE NIL PLATFORM FOR COLLEGE ATHLETES
Provides Expanded Opportunities for Athletes Across Multiple Schools and Sports
Irving, TX – August 28, 2024 – Panini America, the world’s largest sports and entertainment collectibles company, announced today an expansive and innovative new platform that will engage and benefit college athletes.
Panini College is a dedicated NIL platform that enables all athletes at a partner university to have their own Panini trading card under the Panini NIL brand, which will be available for sale to fans and to the athletes as a personal memento. Athletes who participate in the program will receive compensation based on card sales. Cards for each player will continue to be added as their seasons get underway, and some players will have autograph versions of their cards.
The platform will initially launch with football and volleyball athletes from three powerhouse schools – Ohio State University, the University of Nebraska and the University of Texas – and Panini College will expand to additional partner schools and sports throughout the country over the next few months.
The Panini College platform – college.paniniamerica.net – will launch on Tuesday, September 3rd. Products will continue to evolve and be available throughout the 2024-25 school year.
“We believe that every collegiate athlete, no matter their school, sport or position, should have the ability to have their own trading card,” said Jason Howarth, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Athlete Relations for Panini America. “Panini College does exactly that, changing the trading card game for all athletes in all sports and allowing them to capitalize on their name, image and likeness. As we expand our roster of partner schools and onboard additional sports, we look forward to providing even more opportunities to both recognize and reward athletes, while offering compelling products to fans across the country.”
Panini College is the latest extension of Panini’s commanding presence in the collegiate NIL space. Panini’s athlete partnerships include University of Nebraska volleyball All-American Lexi Rodriguez, who was the brand’s first female NIL athlete, and current collegiate athletes, including exclusive athletes Quinn Ewers, Tre Johnson, Arch Manning, Dylan Raiola, Julian Sayin and Zachariah Branch.
Panini offers several collegiate-focused products, and earlier this year launched the enormously popular Caitlin Clark Collection, a multi-card set that celebrates Clark’s legendary basketball career at the University of Iowa.
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, WWE, 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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