Ud "update" on mlbpa license

LAS VEGAS – One year ago today, Upper Deck announced that it had acquired an MLB Players Association license.

But in the last year, collectors have not seen a single baseball product from the company.

“We put together a couple of products last year, including Fleer Retro, and we weren’t happy with how they came out,” Upper Deck President Jason Masherah told Beckett Media. “Basically, we scrapped them and started over.”


Upper Deck’s last baseball release was 2012 SP Signature Edition, an MLBPA-only product that featured autographs but no pictures of players. Before that, Upper Deck released a product in 2010 even though Topps has had an exclusive with MLB Properties license since 2009.

That set resulted in a lawsuit by MLB Properties for use of licensed trademarks.

“Our feeling is that having a delay since the last time we had produced a baseball product, if we didn’t do it right, everyone was going to be extremely disappointed,” Masherah said.

Upper Deck faces different challenges than Panini America, which also has an MLBPA license and not a Major League Baseball Properties license. Upper Deck is still under restrictions from the lawsuit settlement with MLB Properties in 2010.

Along with the terms that were disclosed, Upper Deck paid several million dollars, but also has restrictions on how it could produce cards.

As term of the settlement, Upper Deck agreed it will not make any new sets of cards using MLB logos, uniforms, trade dress, or Club color combinations; and it also agreed it will not airbrush, alter or block MLB marks in future products.

That requires Upper Deck to find different ways to use baseball players on cards that is difficult – as UD discovered when the products were being created.

“I think it is important for us to get it right,” Masherah said. “What we saw was not acceptable.”

Upper Deck is working on a product now that Masherah feels is very strong. However, he wasn’t ready to offer more information on the product including a release date.

So, basically, prepare for more cards with no pictures and just autographs or a 1992 Bowman style set where guys are in casual dress for the pictures

Or cut off black and white head shots

Or ultra close-up shots of faces only.

Or pictures with prohibited images strategically obstructed by fans/poor focus/baseball equipment/random things/precipitation/wildlife/UFOs/all of the above...

Does anyone know if UD's collegiate License could possible be applied to making a college baseball Product?

Sure, college baseball is Not as known as football or hoops, but any well-done product would be well accepted...

It's a shame Upper Deck doesn't have a MLB team logo license to make nice baseball cards for its 25th anniversary.
There could have been some really cool UD sets this year.

Does anyone else finds this quote to be odd?

“We put together a couple of products last year, including Fleer Retro, and we weren’t happy with how they came out,” Upper Deck President Jason Masherah told Beckett Media. “Basically, we scrapped them and started over.”

Did they somehow forget how to make baseball cards?

Benson said:

Does anyone else finds this quote to be odd?

“We put together a couple of products last year, including Fleer Retro, and we weren’t happy with how they came out,” Upper Deck President Jason Masherah told Beckett Media. “Basically, we scrapped them and started over.”

Did they somehow forget how to make baseball cards?

Click to expand...

It sounds as if they ran into issues with the settlement they signed prohibiting the use of team logos, colors, etc., and that their concept products were impacted as a result. That said, purchasing the MLBPA license seemingly without a plan for how they were going to use it raises a host of questions about their management decision making.