Upper Deck Not Planning To Leave MLB Market Despite Topps Deal

Upper Deck Still Has A License With MLBPA, Intends To Remain In Baseball Card Market

It remains to be seen "just how exclusive" Topps' multi-year deal to become MLB's sole trading card manufacturer actually is, as Upper Deck Dir of Sports Brands Jason Masherah indicated that the company "has no plans to leave the market," according to a front-page piece by John Wilkens of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Masherah: "We're still trying to figure out what all this means. We've never been in this position. But the situation allows us to re-evaluate things and come up with new and innovative concepts." Upper Deck still has a license with the MLBPA, and Wilkens notes the company theoretically could still produce a card of Padres 1B Adrian Gonzalez "that would include his picture." However, Upper Deck "probably wouldn't be allowed to show him in a Padres cap or uniform, or even call him a Padre on the card." Upper Deck launched in '89, and trading-card magazine Beckett Publisher Tracy Hackler said the company's "first baseball set was revolutionary," as the "quality and appearance were unlike anything the industry had seen before." But Masherah notes oversaturation and "waning interest among collectors hurt the market, and the industry's annual revenue is now about" $200M. Meanwhile, MLB VP/Business PR Matt Bourne said that other MLB exclusive deals, "such as with New Era for caps and Pepsi for soft drinks, have worked well for both parties." Bourne: "In all those instances, the companies involved have benefited greatly, and we've seen our business in those areas grow, too. We want to see the popularity of baseball cards restored, and we think this is a way to do it" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/7).

EXCLUSIVITY GROWING: Beckett's Hackler in a blog entry noted three out of the four major pro sports leagues "now have exclusive trading card agreements with different companies," and "ultimately, the lack of competition almost always leads to fewer good choices for the collector." Hackler: "The real growth opportunity in sports cards is the adult sports fan. ... There are worse marketing strategies than embracing the fact that our core demographic is a 25-to-54-year-old male" (BLOGBECKETT.WORDPRESS.com, 8/6). But ESPN's Michael Wilbon said "it's over" for baseball cards. Wilbon: "It's like boxing. We love it, but it's over. Kids want to hold electronic things with buttons in their hands. ... No one under 50 cares about baseball cards" ("PTI," ESPN, 8/6).