First Ever Panini Collection For Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Basketball To Launch In October

Euroleague Basketball, which is the leading organizer of the top European basketball club competitions, has announced a new deal with Panini America.

The deal with the subsidiary of the Panini Group will see the sports trading card and sticker manufacturer become the official trading partner of the top-tier EuroLeague.

Under the multi-year deal, the company will create a first-ever and exclusive EuroLeague card collection for fans of the sport, with the trading cards launched via Panini’s real-time Panini Instant product.

The cards, which will become available in October, will feature the top EuroLeague players and are going to be accessible across four of Panini’s most famous and popular brands, starting with Panini Instant before being followed by Donruss EuroLeague, Prizm EuroLeague and Crown Royale EuroLeague.

The new collection is going to come with a range of limited edition cards that will include autographed cards, memorabilia cards plus some rare inserts.

This new partnership looks set to revolutionize the world of soccer sports card collecting and comes off the back of news that Panini America, currently engaged in a trading cards war, has suffered losses to some of their licenses from the Fanatics brands.

Fans and backers of Panini will take comfort in deals like this indicating that Panini is gaining partnerships rather than just losing them.

Panini is offering sports fans the opportunity to connect in a brand-new way

Panini America currently has league and players union licenses to produce NBA and NFL trading cards but has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Fanatics citing that their rivals have “created an entirely new monopoly spanning multiple leagues and multiple players associations” within the industry.

According to Panini, Fanatics have engaged in “calculated, intentional, anticompetitive conduct” by signing long-term licensing deals that are exclusive with leagues and players\ associations as well as signing down rookie NFL and NBA players to exclusive deals.

Fanatics also has a 20-year deal with the NFL Players Association that will begin in 2026, the same year that it will become the exclusive licensee of NBA cards by way of deals in place with its league and union.

Fanatics has also signed deals with the MLB and its players’ association in August 2021 which led to it becoming the exclusive licensee of its cards at the close of 2022, before its acquisition of Topps in January of the same year.

The first EuroLeague trading cards will launch exclusively through Panini’s Panini Instant product in order to celebrate the key EuroLeague performances as they happen in real-time.

Basketball fans will be able to look forward to some potentially stunning card designs that will feature top EuroLeague players and showcase their skills, athleticism and passion for the game, spreading across four of Panini’s most popular brands. It will start with Panini Instant before being followed by Donruss EuroLeague, Prizm EuroLeague and Crown Royale EuroLeague.

Panini America CEO Mark Warsop and Euroleague Basketball CEO Paulius Motiejunas explained the deal on their website. “We are excited to partner with Panini, a company known for its commitment to quality and innovation. This collaboration will allow us to bring the passion of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague to collectors and fans representing an incredible opportunity for us to build iconic products that will captivate audiences globally and boost the engagement with the EuroLeague fans.”

“We look forward to working with the EuroLeague to showcase its players and deliver some of our most popular trading card brands to EuroLeague fans – giving them something special to collect that features their favorite teams and players”.

The upcoming launch will see the creation of an exclusive Turkish Airlines EuroLeague card collection that promises fans a whole new chance to reach out and connect with their favorite athletes.

The first EuroLeague trading cards collection will be available through Panini’s real-time Panini Instant product worldwide on the Panini official website later on this month.