Panini America Renews Trading Card Licensing Deal With NFL, NFLPA

Panini America today formally announced that it has reached a long-term licensing deal with the NFL and NFLPA that gives the trading card company U.S. and int'l rights for up to 18 product releases annually. The deal takes effect immediately and will be incorporated into Panini America's first NFL product of the season, the 2012 Prestige Football line, which launches in June (Panini). The deal "includes licenses for cards, stickers and sticker albums." In its previous deal, Panini could release 15 card sets (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/23 issue).

Meanwhile, Leaf Trading Cards today filed a lawsuit against NFL Draft prospect QB Andrew Luck that seeks to preserve Leaf's rights to produce and sell trading cards featuring photos of Luck taken at the '08 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Leaf filed suit after receiving a letter from Luck's attorney demanding that Leaf cease selling the cards, claiming they infringed on "publicity rights" (Leaf).