UD announces that they no longer have an NFL license

A small part of me is pleased to see karma come a knocking, but the rational part of me knows this is bad for the pigskin side of the hobby :(
 
More info from another site :


NFL Properties Announcement - No Renewal for UD

Just a quick heads up, but UD was unable to renew its football card license with NFL Properties for the 2010 NFL season.

A formal press release will be forthcoming from the NFL, but just wanted you to know about it.


And just in case you’re looking for a statement from UD, here’s a quote that you can attribute to Richard McWilliam, Upper Deck’s CEO and Founder:

“Over the past year, Upper Deck has attempted to negotiate a new licensing deal with NFL Properties. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were not able to reach agreeable terms, and therefore will not be issuing any NFL Properties-licensed trading cards for the 2010 season. Upper Deck will continue to focus on its exclusive license agreement with the Collegiate Licensing Company and co-exclusive agreements with NHL Enterprises and the NHL Players’ Association, as well as its multiple entertainment licenses.”

-Terry

Terry Melia
Public Relations Mgr.
The Upper Deck Company
 
I wasn't surprised when I read this via a link to Becketts site. I was surprised to find that 10 people had commented over on that site, who knew they had 10 members left.
 
Just goes to prove what my old buddy Fawad always says about karma. Upper Deck is now reaping what they've sown, and I for one feel no sympathy for them whatsoever! They've treated me and countless other thousands of customers like crap for years. They've taken us all for fools and taken our hard earned dollars without delivering steady quality. Let them eat crap at the back of the line now for a while!
-Sean
 
Wow. UD is looking very small.

They are left with no NBA license, no NFL license, no MLB license (although they have an MLBPA license...for now).

I am thinking that Upper Deck's hockey products may suddenly see a boost in quality, and their customer service might even improve, as hockey cards become the last bastion of hope for UD's financial survival.

I think this is a bad thing for football collectors, but potentially a very good thing for hockey collectors.
 
While I am a bit sad about some of the beautiful sets Upper Deck produced for football being lost for now I also beliave that Panini has quite a few quality sets out there to pick up the slack for the football collecters like myself. Maybe this will be UD's time of reflection on how to treat customers in the hobby regardless of sport. Just my two cents though.

Aaron
 
Although I'm not a big fan of Upper Deck, I also don't believe that Panini being the only producer in football is a good thing either. It will be interesting to see what happens with the upcoming football products and the market in general now.
 
I believe UD still has the option to do collegiate cards for football. College football has a massive following and I hope to see UD make the most of a small opportunity here.
 
I am thinking that Upper Deck's hockey products may suddenly see a boost in quality, and their customer service might even improve, as hockey cards become the last bastion of hope for UD's financial survival.

I think this is a bad thing for football collectors, but potentially a very good thing for hockey collectors.

Very good points. It all depends on the mentality over at UD. What's done is done. So do they look at this as an opportunity?

According to a press release, UD will be producing less brands in hockey. I've always contended that they do not have the capacity (nor does the hobby, IMHO) for that many brands and if they produced less then they can place greater attention on each product they release. Sometimes less is more. Perhaps we'll see less errors and inaccuracies, less redundancy from product to product, and increased quality control and customer service. UD may have the potential to make the best of this situation and be a greater contender for licenses in the future.

Also with Panini, collectors are taking a wait and see approach. If UD can take advantage of having a more focused product line, they could take advantage of a new player's rookie mistakes.

Does anyone know the duration of the current licenses? Will be an interesting next few years in the land of hockey cards.
 

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