BACKPANINI SIGNS HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT TAVIEN ST. CLAIR TO EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP
Irving, TX – December 3, 2024 – Panini America, the world’s largest sports and entertainment collectibles company announced today an exclusive, multi-year autograph trading card agreement with Bellefontaine (OH) High School quarterback Tavien St. Clair, one of the top players in the Class of 2025.
St. Clair has committed to play for the Ohio State University Buckeyes next season. He will be featured in Panini’s line of collegiate trading card and memorabilia products and will also be included in select Panini marketing activations.
Ranked in the top five nationally by multiple recruiting services, St. Clair threw for 29 touchdowns and 2,536 yards, while also running for eight touchdowns, leading Bellefontaine to an 8-3 record. St. Clair is ranked 10th in the state in career passing yards and is one of 13 players to throw for more than 100 career touchdowns.
“Tavien is a very dynamic player, and we’re excited to see what he will do at the collegiate level for Ohio State,” said Jason Howarth, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Athlete Relations at Panini America. “We are excited about the opportunity to work with Tavien as he starts his collegiate career and we can’t wait to offer fans products featuring Tavien.”
St. Clair joins his future Ohio State teammate Julian Sayin, Jalen Milroe, Quinn Ewers, Dylan Raiola, Arch Manning, Zachariah Branch, and Vernell Brown III as collegiate and high school football standouts who have exclusive partnerships with Panini.
“As I enter the next phase of my football life, I’m excited to partner with a leader in the trading card space like Panini,” said Tavien St. Clair. “Growing up you dream of having your own Panini trading card – to actually have that happening and use it as another way to be connected with Ohio State fans is incredible.”
This partnership with St. Clair 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, 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, 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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