BREAKING NEWS: Upper Deck Loses NFL Properties Licensing

[RITM]

UGH

 

[200lbhockeyplayer]

I would expect Topps to pony up the funds for Upper Deck's license.

Could be, and I'd rather have Topps Chrome than nothing.

Now that I just wrapped up the 2009 Topps Chrome Blue Refractor set, I'd love the chance to do a 2010 version.

 

[Brad]

I think Topps will reenter the picture. I am curious if UD will still be at the rookie premiere and having the guys wear college gear. I would be some of that.

 

[RITM]

Will be interesting to see how UD goes the collegiate route as they said on facebook. Maybe they saw the writing on the wall so to speak which brought about the Shout Outs in Ultimate and the collegiate themes cards coming out in Sweet Spot.

 

[mwheeler27]

This whole thing sucks. No more UD and no more Topps. I am really going to miss Exquisite and Topps / Bowman Chrome.

What sucks is upper deck cheating everybody. That's the only reason they have lost all these licenses. They are getting what they deserve.

What I think would be great is for Topps, or somebody similar, to buy out upper deck and continue to produce upper deck "like" cards. Topps Exquisite for example.

 

[sffanmike25]

Will be interesting to see how UD goes the collegiate route as they said on facebook. Maybe they saw the writing on the wall so to speak which brought about the Shout Outs in Ultimate and the collegiate themes cards coming out in Sweet Spot.

Hopefully UD can continue on with that a bit beyond Sweet Spot.

If UD can bring out a college rookie brand similar to what they did with 2003 Ultimate Collection (the rookies that were in college unis in that set), throw in the Shout Out concept into that, I think it'd sell well early on.

 

[hawkfandan]

This is BRUTAL. First basketball & now football. Collecting options are getting slimmer and slimmer.

 

[RITM]

Will be interesting to see how UD goes the collegiate route as they said on facebook. Maybe they saw the writing on the wall so to speak which brought about the Shout Outs in Ultimate and the collegiate themes cards coming out in Sweet Spot.

Hopefully UD can continue on with that a bit beyond Sweet Spot.

If UD can bring out a college rookie brand similar to what they did with 2003 Ultimate Collection (the rookies that were in college unis in that set), throw in the Shout Out concept into that, I think it'd sell well early on.

I can agree with that. I loved the Shout Out concept. Had the cards not been a run of 5 I would've attempted to build the set.

 

[ljw29]

Guess its time to ask for replacements on redemptions

 

[goldenegg1]

HORRIBLE news in my opinion!!!!!!!
Lack of competition will lead to inferior products.
Look at Panini Basketball, everything looks the exact same. To the average collector, good luck telling the difference in Rookies and Stars, Longevity, Threads, and Certified. UD may have screwed up with their contracts or whatever, but I loved busting UD football products. They are still putting out awesome hockey products, but Panini gets a piece of that action next year.
Sad day for football collectors.

 

[allstars]

Sad day for football collectors.

Sad era for card collectors in general. And dealers like myself - it's rough when everyone's used to choices & suddenly they don't have any. It shows how completely out of touch the leagues are with all of us. They are clueless about cards & collecting. ::facepalm::

 

[ljw29]

Sad day for football collectors.

Sad era for card collectors in general. And dealers like myself - it's rough when everyone's used to choices & suddenly they don't have any. It shows how completely out of touch the leagues are with all of us. They are clueless about cards & collecting. ::facepalm::

I agree but when UD owes players money among other problems its definitely understandable why this happened

 

[RITM]

At what point do collectors need to start getting concerned over this impacting collection value? A lot of us have some high dollar cards from the likes of UD. If this goes long term what impact if any does it have on the high end stuff we already own?

 

[Sports Card Radio]

Like so many companies, Upper Deck took advantage of a bubble in a market and did not build a sustainable business model in the process. We saw it in 2000 with dot.coms that blew up overnight and made NBA owners out of domain squatters. We saw it with almost every major bank in late 2008 when outstanding home loans were not the treasure chest families and stuffy businessmen thought they were.

Sure Upper Deck has NCAA, Entertainment and a Hockey license (for now) but they also have multi-million dollar exclusive athlete contracts, an expensive multi-million dollar office building and a CEO that spends more money tipping the doorman at his Manhattan sky-rise than most people make in a month. Not to mention there isn't a lawyer in New York that will represent the company considering the outstanding legal bills that the company fails to pay year after year.

Small-to-Medium print run products like Sweet Spot and Hockey don't even put a dent in the companies bottom line. The company admits themselves that massive print-run products like Upper Deck Series 1 Baseball are the only configurations that allow the company to make a huge profit because Wal-Mart and Target are buyers. The company has no ability to make sets like this any longer. The company can survive in its current state only by printing mass numbers of cards and filling higher end product with redemptions for cards they know will never be fulfilled...those days are done.

Bottom line is if this company doesn't downsize to the Razor's, TriStar's, Press Pass, SAGE and ITG's of the card manufacture world ... we'll be talking about another company 'buying' up what's left of Upper Deck.

My message to the Upper Deck Fans ... this isn't personal ... its business.

 

[justinmandawg]

Like so many companies, Upper Deck took advantage of a bubble in a market and did not build a sustainable business model in the process. We saw it in 2000 with dot.coms that blew up overnight and made NBA owners out of domain squatters. We saw it with almost every major bank in late 2008 when outstanding home loans were not the treasure chest families and stuffy businessmen thought they were.

Sure Upper Deck has NCAA, Entertainment and a Hockey license (for now) but they also have multi-million dollar exclusive athlete contracts, an expensive multi-million dollar office building and a CEO that spends more money tipping the doorman at his Manhattan sky-rise than most people make in a month. Not to mention there isn't a lawyer in New York that will represent the company considering the outstanding legal bills that the company fails to pay year after year.

Small-to-Medium print run products like Sweet Spot and Hockey don't even put a dent in the companies bottom line. The company admits themselves that massive print-run products like Upper Deck Series 1 Baseball are the only configurations that allow the company to make a huge profit because Wal-Mart and Target are buyers. The company has no ability to make sets like this any longer. The company can survive in its current state only by printing mass numbers of cards and filling higher end product with redemptions for cards they know will never be fulfilled...those days are done.

Bottom line is if this company doesn't downsize to the Razor's, TriStar's, Press Pass, SAGE and ITG's of the card manufacture world ... we'll be talking about another company 'buying' up what's left of Upper Deck.

My message to the Upper Deck Fans ... this isn't personal ... its business.

signed

my site is sponsored by Topps

 

[Slette]

Trying to turn a negative into a positive... my favorite sports team is a college team, and I am excited about the possibility of more cards showcasing that team. But my second-favorite team is the Vikings, and knowing that I won't be able to add quality cards of my favorite Vikes to my collection in the future is a downer. At the very least, Chad Greenway has appeared in Score products the past few seasons... *sigh.* I wonder if Panini will be able to get guys like Allen to sign for them now?

 

[Ryo1549]

At what point do collectors need to start getting concerned over this impacting collection value? A lot of us have some high dollar cards from the likes of UD. If this goes long term what impact if any does it have on the high end stuff we already own?

I happen to think some of the collection stuff will go up as it starts to dry up. There is definitely some value to "The last sp authentic" set ever or what not.

 

[deceptikon1978]

Isn't it possible for UD to keep making the same sets, just college based?

Sure some collector's wouldn't like it, but why not a college themed SPA, Ultimate, Exquisite...

 

[Slette]

Isn't it possible for UD to keep making the same sets, just college based?

Sure some collector's wouldn't like it, but why not a college themed SPA, Ultimate, Exquisite...

If UD has to go the NCAA-only route, they picked a good year to do it for you, at least, with Clausen and Tate coming out. You should have some pretty nice stuff to go after.

 

[deceptikon1978]

Isn't it possible for UD to keep making the same sets, just college based?

Sure some collector's wouldn't like it, but why not a college themed SPA, Ultimate, Exquisite...

If UD has to go the NCAA-only route, they picked a good year to do it for you, at least, with Clausen and Tate coming out. You should have some pretty nice stuff to go after.

I wouldn't complain

I would think something like that would actually help to add some value too. Take a player like Tebow for example. If he doesn't pan out, an Exquisite patch/auto RC in an NFL uni would drop in price. But an Exquisite patch/auto RC in his Florida uni would still be highly sought after even if he busts in the NFL.

Just my 2 cents.