Card companies announce Michael Sam autograph deals
By Susan Lulgjuraj | Beckett Football Editor
Football player Michael Sam grabbed national attention recently when the prospect announced he was gay. Sam, the Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the SEC from Missouri, could be the first active openly gay player in the NFL if he gets signed.
Card companies are now scrambling to include Sam in their products.
Press Pass and Topps have both announced Sam’s autograph cards will be including in upcoming products.
Press Pass said Sam’s first on-card autographs will be available in conjunction with 2014 Press Pass Football, which comes out March 5.
“Based on the historic nature of Mr. Sam’s announcement, we wanted to find a way to include him in 2014 Press Pass Football without impacting our release date,” said Nick Matijevich, Vice President of Operations for Press Pass Inc. “This promotion allows us to accomplish this goal, while delivering the first on-card autographs of Michael to fans and collectors. While the current narrative surrounding him is in regards to his noteworthy revelation, we fully expect his talent to shine through during the draft process, leading to more coverage of his dominant contributions on the field going forward.”
Collectors who send in a UPC code from their 2014 Press Pass Football box will receive a bonus Sam Press Pass Signings autographed card, while supplies last. Collectors have to send a hobby box UPC code, a hand-printed 3-by-5-inch card with their name and complete address, and email address, in an envelope to:
Press Pass Rookie Football 2014 – Michael Sam
9805 NorthCross Center Ct, Suite H
Huntersville, NC 28078
Only one card per envelope will be delivered.
Topps announced through its football Twitter account (@ToppsFB) that Sam’s autograph cards will also appear in 2014 Topps Football.
Susan Lulgjuraj is an editor at Beckett Media. You can email her here with questions, comments or ideas. Follow her on Twitter here. Follow Beckett Media on Facebook and Twitter.
He won’t be the first active gay man, just the first openly so.
I guess being gay is important for some people, but I care more about how good a player he is.
Lets be honest that card is going to be on fire the first month for 1 reason only. The Gay Factor. What I mean by that is You will have all the people on ebay that buy stuff the minute someone dies or does something big in the news thinking that in years it will be worth a fortune competing with all the gay non collectors who want the card for a pride factor. Then add in the collectors of his college that need the card & the regular collectors that cant wait that will make that card insane. After 1-2 months if that long what he does on the field will affect the price.
PP & Topps see $$$ & his announcement for them = $$$. I dont see them doing special runs for any other projected 4th round pick. No dont get me wrong its good business & may be a big untapped lucrative market. The gay demographic usually projects as the demo with the most disposable income & if the can use Sam to lure them into card collecting then Sam may break down a wall he never expected to. Who knows 5 years from now the card industry may be hailing Sam a hero for all the new collectors he may bring in. The whole trick is to get them & then KEEP THEM!
I have never seen articles about gay collectors. I have seen a few about female collectors (Another segment that is unappreciated & ignored for the most part by companies). If the companies take the time to get more Female & Gay collectors this hobby can have another boom period. Instead of worrying about making the next $1500 pack maybe do more niche marketing & work with DEALERS & COLLECTORS More!
The funny thing is, I wouldn’t otherwise give a damn about this card unless he played for USC or was drafted by the Lions … so unless that happens or he becomes a hobby star based on his play on the field, I wouldn’t want it until it was sold out anyway. So either way I won’t be picking one up, LOL
I for one have NO INTEREST n this PLAYER or anyone who else comes out n says HEY LOOK AT ME