Panini America, Inc. is an Italian trading card manufacturer best known for producing sports cards and trading card stickers. They have been producing baseball cards since the early 1990s. When it comes to whether their baseball cards are officially licensed or not, the answer is a bit nuanced.
To begin, it is important to understand the two major sports trading card companies – Topps and Panini. Topps has been the primary producer and exclusive licensed partner of Major League Baseball since 1956. This granted Topps exclusive rights to feature MLB logos, uniforms, team names and player likenesses on baseball cards. However, Topps’ exclusivity deal with MLB expired after the 2020 season.
In November 2020, it was announced that MLB had reached a new exclusive multi-year global trading card license agreement with both Panini America and Fanatics. This meant that beginning in 2021, both Panini and Topps (now owned by Fanatics) would have official MLB licenses to produce baseball cards, ending Topps’ 64-year streak as the sole licensee.
Prior to 2021, Panini’s baseball cards existed in a bit of a grey area when it came to official MLB licensing. They were unable to use team logos, uniforms or player names due to Topps’ exclusive deal. However, Panini was able to take photos of players in action and incorporate statistics on the cards. They also primarily focused on rookie cards, prospects and international players to avoid directly competing with Topps on star players.
While Panini couldn’t label their pre-2021 baseball cards as “officially licensed” due to Topps’ exclusive MLB deal, they still contained factual content and imagery of real major leaguers. Many collectors viewed them as a halfway point between licensed and unlicensed status. Panini baseball cards from this era tended to be more collectible than unlicensed issues but less valuable than Topps’ officially licensed MLB releases.
After the expiration of Topps’ exclusivity in 2020, Panini’s situation changed dramatically. Beginning with their 2021 Diamond Kings, Donruss and Chronicles baseball card releases, Panini was fully able to label all of their baseball card products as “Officially Licensed by Major League Baseball.”
This allowed Panini to use elements like team logos and uniforms, apply player names to jerseys on cards, as well as have official logos and word marks from MLB adorn their packaging and materials. The additional authenticity elements boosted collector demand for Panini baseball cards. Values increased substantially compared to their pre-2021 output when they operated in a licensed product grey area.
Going forward, both Panini and Topps/Fanatics will compete directly as MLB’s officially endorsed trading card licensees. Topps remains the most prestigious brand in baseball cards due to their long history, but Panini has significantly expanded their baseball card program and collector base through their new licensed status. What were once borderline baseball card issues are now fully recognized by the hobby as on-par with Topps in terms of licensing authentication.
While Panini baseball cards produced prior to 2021 existed in a sort of limbo without official MLB licensing, their cards since have been fully authorized through Panini’s new direct deal with the league. This resolved any gray area questions over their licensing authenticity. Today, Panini baseball cards can absolutely be defined as officially licensed MLB products backed by Major League Baseball’s endorsement and authorization. Their licensed status now matches Topps in the eyes of both the sport and the collecting community.
