[rjcj2017]

I dont blame UD for trying to make money after losing their license. I blame the organization that decided there should be an exclusive rights company to produce cards.

I agree - especially given the state that the company is in with cards themselves, Upper Deck needs to do anything it can to stay relative and afloat in terms of memorabilia.

It just stinks that the one almost surefire star in the draft won't have any autographed cards except for Goodwin's Champions.

[jonathani]

I blame the organization that decided there should be an exclusive rights company to produce cards.

+1

[TBarn291]

I could be mistaken, but wasn't UD going through a whole bunch of issues, and not paying the athletes like they were supposed too? I was always under the impression that the market wasn't big enough for multiple companies. Wasn't Upper Deck and Topps pushing for one manufacturer before Panini entered entered the picture?

[rjcj2017]

I could be mistaken, but wasn't UD going through a whole bunch of issues, and not paying the athletes like they were supposed too? I was always under the impression that the market wasn't big enough for multiple companies. Wasn't Upper Deck and Topps pushing for one manufacturer before Panini entered entered the picture?

I think, if anything, losing almost all of their card licenses has made it easier for the memorabilia arm of their business to prosper, because they're not paying X number of athletes X number of dollars for X number of autographs for X number of card products per year.

(Sorry for all the "X"s)

The way they have it now, they can pay LeBron, Jordan and Simmons (and whoever else they have memorabilia deals with) on an annual or per-piece basis and not have to constantly shell out money to random players for random autos in random products.

[vgqv]

I could be mistaken, but wasn't UD going through a whole bunch of issues, and not paying the athletes like they were supposed too? I was always under the impression that the market wasn't big enough for multiple companies. Wasn't Upper Deck and Topps pushing for one manufacturer before Panini entered entered the picture?

I thought it was the NBA/NBAPA pushing for one card company manufacturer? And yeah I think UD had owed several players monies for autographs. I have a printout of what player was owed what from an online article from years ago. It may have been a Beckett article, I don't remember. It was very interesting though to see which player was paid what.

[rjcj2017]

I thought it was the NBA/NBAPA pushing for one card company manufacturer? And yeah I think UD had owed several players monies for autographs. I have a printout of what player was owed what from an online article from years ago. It may have been a Beckett article, I don't remember. It was very interesting though to see which player was paid what.

That would be great ... I'd love to have some LeBron autos in his Heat uni, or "return to Cleveland" uni, or Ben Simmons in his Sixers uni. But until they cut ties with Upper Deck, or Upper Deck gets its license back, we're out of luck.

I am looking forward to some Kevin Durant Warriors autos, assuming he stays with Panini, LOL