Panini Keeps Key WNBA License in a Shifting Hobby Landscape
With this extension, Panini gives itself a crucial anchor in a shifting licensing landscape.
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Panini Keeps Key WNBA License in a Shifting Hobby Landscape
Panini and the WNBPA have announced an extension of their partnership to create trading cards featuring WNBA players.
To be clear, there is a difference between a league license and a union license.
This deal is the union license — and generally, it’s the more important of the two. Ideally, you always want both licenses, but a company can get away with only a union license to make cards — just look at Panini’s work with the MLBPA license.
Getting the union license gives companies a lot of leverage when negotiating with the leagues.
And companies like Panini and Topps usually didn’t negotiate the league and union deals in the same years. There was a gap between when these licenses are reviewed because with that gap, there is some protection from another company trying to swoop in and grab a license.
As an example, when it was announced in 2021 that Fanatics (before it acquired Topps) got the MLBPA and MLB licenses to make cards, it was noted that the MLBPA license was up in 2022 and the MLB license concluded in 2025.
Given everything that’s happened with Fanatics – now via Topps – getting the MLB, NFL, and NBA trading card licenses, the WNBA is one of the most important licenses Panini currently owns.
It was incredibly important for them to keep the license — one that has only grown in value since Panini took over the WNBA deal in 2018.
The popularity of Caitlin Clark has made WNBA card sales skyrocket. More than a dozen WNBA cards have sold for over $100,000 in the last year.
All featured Clark.
The price of WNBA hobby boxes is through the roof this year. Donruss WNBA, for example, is selling for more than $400. Panini has also added more products to the WNBA portfolio over the years, and it’s up to about five products a season now.
With this extension, Panini gives itself a crucial anchor in a shifting licensing landscape. As Fanatics continues to consolidate the major leagues, the WNBA license isn’t just a nice-to-have for Panini.
It’s one of the pillars they can still build around — especially as women’s sports, and the WNBA in particular, keep growing in popularity.
Top 5 WNBA Card Sales
2024 Panini Flawless WNBA Platinum Caitlin Clark Rookie Logowoman Patch Auto 1/1 - $660,000
2024 National Treasures Caitlin Clark Rookie Logowman Patch Auto 1/1 BGS 9.5 - $504,000
2024 Panini Prizm WNBA Signatures Gold Vinyl Prizm #SG-CC Caitlin Clark Signed Rookie Card (#1/1) - PSA 10, PSA/DNA 10 - $366,000
2024-25 Panini Instant Rookie Royalty WNBA Kaboom! Green #1 Caitlin Clark Rookie Card (#1/1) - BGS 10 - $341,600
2024-25 Panini Instant Rookie Royalty Immaculate Collection WNBA Logo Autograph #WLA-CC Caitlin Clark Signed, Inscribed “ROY 24” Patch Rookie Card (#1/1) - Panini Encased - $317,000
As someone that collects NBA and WNBA, I guess we will see a good comparison between fanatics and panini products, release dates, and quality control
Sad news for collectors, though. Check out the horrible quality control on 2025 Donruss WNBA, with Crunch Time cards severely miscut. Ah well, at least the Rated Rookie cards live on! I'm happy with that. (Thanks for posting this, Sooz!)