Panini America

Name

Panini America

Legal name

Panini America, Inc.

Website

https://paniniamerica.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Trading Cards and Collectibles

NAICS

Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (339920), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Sporting Goods Retailers (45911)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRAMAOAA

Sports Trading Cards Retail

Consumer Products & Retail/Sporting Goods & Outdoor Retail/Sports Collectibles, Fan Gear & Licensed Merchandise Retail

SECONDARYCRAMAOAK

Digital Sports Collectibles Retail (NFTs)

Consumer Products & Retail/Sporting Goods & Outdoor Retail/Sports Collectibles, Fan Gear & Licensed Merchandise Retail

SECONDARYCRALAGAB

Non-Sports Trading Cards Retail (TCG/Entertainment)

Consumer Products & Retail/Specialty Retail (Hobby, Books, Office, Pet, Toys)/Collectibles, Trading Cards & Memorabilia Retail

SECONDARYCRAMAOAI

Sports Collectibles Marketplace & Auction Platforms

Consumer Products & Retail/Sporting Goods & Outdoor Retail/Sports Collectibles, Fan Gear & Licensed Merchandise Retail

SECONDARYCRAMABAO

Sports Collectibles, Fan Gear & Licensed Merchandise Retail

Consumer Products & Retail/Sporting Goods & Outdoor Retail/Sporting Goods Generalist Retail

Keywords

• Licensed trading cards
• Sports collectibles
• FIFA stickers
• Sports memorabilia
• Digital collectibles

Headquarters

HQ city

Irving

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Physical Trading Cards: Core revenue stream from manufacturing and selling trading cards across multiple sports including NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, soccer, NASCAR, UFC, and collegiate athletics. Products range from mass-market blasters to premium hobby boxes priced at $300-$700+.
2. FIFA World Cup Sticker Albums: The 2026 FIFA World Cup sticker collection is the largest ever with 980 stickers across a 112-page album. This seasonal product has seen unprecedented demand with stores selling out and backorders extending through the tournament.
3. Digital Collectibles and NFTs: Panini's blockchain-based digital collectibles platform generates revenue from NFT sales and hybrid physical-digital card products. The platform has facilitated over $166 million in all-time sales volume with 65,000+ unique buyers.
4. Licensing Agreements: Multi-year exclusive licensing deals with sports leagues and player associations including WNBPA (described as the most lucrative licensing deal in women's sports history), NWSL, Unrivaled, and WNBA generate licensing revenue and royalties paid to athletes.
5. Panini Apparel and Merchandise: Branded apparel and merchandise sold through the e-commerce platform including athlete-autographed jerseys, memorabilia, and collectibles.
6. Panini Rewards Program: Customer loyalty program allowing collectors to earn points on purchases that can be redeemed for exclusive products, early access to releases, and member-only offerings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Panini America manufactures, distributes, and sells officially licensed trading cards, stickers, and memorabilia across major sports leagues including the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, FIFA, NASCAR, WWE, and UFC. It is the exclusive producer of FIFA World Cup stickers globally, including the 2026 North American FIFA World Cup collection, and operates a hybrid physical-digital collectibles platform that links NFT/blockchain tokens to physical cards.

Product overview

Panini America operates as a multi-brand trading card and collectibles company offering a comprehensive portfolio of products across sports (NBA, NFL, WNBA, MLB, soccer leagues, NASCAR, WWE) and entertainment categories. The product architecture spans multiple tiers: premium flagship brands (Prizm, National Treasures, Flawless, Immaculate, Impeccable, Noir), mid-market offerings (Donruss, Select, Contenders, Obsidian, Court Kings), and entry-level products (Hoops, Score), alongside stickers, memorabilia, digital/NFT collectibles, and the on-demand Panini Instant platform. The company also manages athlete NIL deals, WNBA and NWSL licensing partnerships, and international soccer card programs for FIFA World Cup, Premier League, Serie A, UEFA Euroleague, and EFL. Key differentiators include blockchain-enabled digital collectibles, exclusive league licensing agreements, and a rewards program, positioning Panini as a vertically integrated sports and entertainment collectibles company spanning physical cards, digital assets, and memorabilia across over a dozen sports and entertainment verticals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Panini Instant: On-demand trading card platform offering immediate digital purchases
• Panini Prizm
• Panini Donruss
• Panini National Treasures
• Panini NFTs/Blockchain
• Panini Collect
• Panini Rewards

Products and services

• Panini Prizm Trading Cards Industry-standard premium flagship trading card brand across NBA, NFL, WNBA, and soccer; widely regarded as the liquidity benchmark for the modern sports card secondary market. Sold in hobby boxes to collectors and resellers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100x sales growth from WNBPA partnership since 2019
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Under ArmourminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Partnership to create Bobby Witt Jr. 'Dream Pull' player-exclusive footwear capsule featuring designs inspired by trading card culture. Under Armour partnered with Panini to create two exclusive trading cards—Sneaker Spotlight and Color Blast—only available inside each shoe box purchased through Under Armour, DICK'S Sporting Goods, or Academy.com.
• Chaotic EntertainmentflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026Partnership to relaunch the Chaotic trading card game franchise with physical cards debuting in late October 2026 in hobby stores, GameStop and EB Games Canada, followed by major retail release in January 2027. The revival includes an organized play program rolling out in Q1 2027 across hobby stores in the U.S. and Canada, as well as a Progressive Web App online experience. Panini America is handling product development and distribution for the franchise.
• Coca-ColaflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 8 April 2026Marketing partnership as part of Coca-Cola's second wave FIFA World Cup campaign 'Uncanned Emotions' and partnership to embed collectible stickers directly into bottle labels for the tournament. Coca-Cola is also launching its 'America250' celebration with brand spots and collectible mini-cans.
• Breanna StewartcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 7 April 2026Multiyear endorsement deal with Panini America. Stewart is one of the WNBA's most prominent players and a key figure in women's basketball collectibles.
• Rasheem BilescoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 April 2026NIL deal with Texas Longhorns transfer linebacker. Biles recorded 183 total tackles and 10.5 sacks in three seasons at Pittsburgh and is expected to play a key role in the Longhorns' defense.
• Mario CravercoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 April 2026NIL deal with Texas A&M wide receiver who transferred from Mississippi State and had a breakout 2025 season with 59 receptions for 917 yards and four touchdowns. Panini also announced deals with USC running back Waymond Jordan and Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles.
• Coca-Cola North AmericaflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 March 2026First-of-its-kind partnership to embed collectible FIFA World Cup 2026 stickers inside select 20-oz Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar bottles in the U.S. and Canada, launching April 20. Fans can peel back labels to reveal randomly inserted Panini stickers featuring 12 international football stars representing ten nations, with over one billion special edition stickers available globally. The partnership introduces Panini's decades-old World Cup sticker collection ritual to North American fans for the first time.
• OneTeam PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 11 March 2026Brokerage partner facilitating Panini's licensing deals with NWSL, NWSLPA, and Unrivaled. OneTeam Partners specializes in securing licensing agreements for sports trading cards and collectibles.
• Coca-ColaflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 28 January 2026Global marketing campaign 'All the Feels' for FIFA World Cup 2026 marking Coca-Cola's 12th partnership with FIFA and nearly five decades associated with the tournament. Campaign includes partnership with Panini for a custom World Cup collection and the FIFA World Cup 2026 Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fanatics Collectibles: Fanatics Collectibles (formerly Topps) is Panini's most direct competitor, having acquired Panini's exclusive NFL trading card rights in 2021 and subsequently the NBA license. Both companies produce officially licensed sports trading cards across major US leagues and are currently in active antitrust litigation with each other.
• Topps (Fanatics-owned): Topps, now owned by Fanatics, is one of the oldest trading card manufacturers globally with a portfolio spanning MLB, soccer, Marvel, and Star Wars. It directly competes with Panini in baseball cards and now holds the NFL/NBA licenses Panini lost, making it the closest like-for-like competitor.
• Upper Deck: Upper Deck is a long-standing direct competitor manufacturing officially licensed sports trading cards across NHL, NFL (historically), NBA, and college sports. The company competes with Panini for league licensing deals and produces comparable premium card products including authenticated memorabilia and autograph inserts.
• Leaf Trading Cards: Leaf is a smaller but direct competitor in the sports trading card space, producing cards across football, baseball, wrestling, and multi-sport products. It competes with Panini for hobby store distribution and collectible insert programs at lower price points.
• Press Pass Collectibles: Press Pass produces licensed NASCAR and racing trading cards, directly competing with Panini's NASCAR product line. Both companies target the motorsport collector segment with driver autographs, memorabilia cards, and parallel insert programs.

Emerging players

• Funko: Funko is an emerging player in the broader licensed collectibles space, producing Pop! vinyl figures, bobbleheads, and trading cards across sports and entertainment. It overlaps with Panini in the licensed collectibles hobby channel and competes for the same collector wallet share, particularly in mass-market retail.

Broad incumbents

• Wizards of the Coast (Hasbro): Wizards of the Coast (a Hasbro subsidiary) produces Magic: The Gathering, the largest trading card game globally. While focused on TCG rather than sports cards, the Chaotic TCG relaunch puts Panini in direct competition for hobby store shelf space and collector engagement in the gaming card category.

Others

• Konami Digital Entertainment: Konami publishes the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, a top-three TCG globally. While operating in a different IP-driven category, Konami competes with Panini's Chaotic relaunch and broader hobby store TCG shelf share, particularly in mass-market retail channels like GameStop.
• PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator): PSA, a Collectors Universe brand, is the dominant third-party grading service for sports trading cards and a critical infrastructure provider for Panini's products. Graded card prices (e.g., Wembanyama, Brunson) anchor Panini's premium brand value, making PSA a strategically important ecosystem partner.
• Beckett Grading Services: Beckett is a leading card grading and pricing authority for sports and TCG cards, providing authentication, population reports, and price guides. It is an infrastructure provider for Panini's secondary-market liquidity and pricing benchmarks across its major product lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PaniniAmerica
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCCBKEsb-sA3T6sAAFdVInKw
• Facebookfacebook.com/PaniniAmerica
• Instagraminstagram.com/paniniamerica
• TikToktiktok.com/@officialpaniniamerica?lang=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/panini-america-inc.

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Panini America