Kobe Signs Card Deal With Panini After Years With Upper Deck

Kobe Signs Multi-Year Deal, Will Be Card Ambassador

The Panini Group yesterday announced that it has signed a multi-year deal with Lakers G Kobe Bryant making him an official company spokesperson and trading card ambassador. Bryant's deal with Panini, the NBA's exclusive trading card partner, includes autographs and memorabilia. Bryant, who had been an Upper Deck spokesperson since '00, also will appear on Panini packaging and TV ads. Panini's inaugural NBA card release, Panini Prestige Basketball, will launch on October 7 (THE DAILY). Bryant said of the partnership, “We share the same vision and passion for trading cards. Growing up as a kid, you collected so many different cards and so forth. They have so much energy and passion, they're kind of pumping that new energy into the business. We share that same goal." When asked how he can re-energize a card market that has grown stagnant in recent years, Bryant said, "You have to create that emotional connection with the youth because there's so many options out there for kids nowadays" (“Street Signs,” CNBC, 9/29). CNBC.com's Darren Rovell wrote there is "little doubt" that Bryant is the "hottest marketing commodity in the NBA." His other sponsorships include Nike, Coca-Cola Co.'s Vitaminwater, 2K Sports, as well as two "China-only deals" with Sina.com and Alibaba (CNBC.com, 9/29).