By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Panini America and the Professional Fighters League (PFL) have announced a multi-year licensing partnership for sports trading cards.
Professional Fighters League is a global mixed-martial arts league that includes distinct features, including a sports-season format and a proprietary technology system called PFL SmartCage.
PFL SmartCage is used by the league to run its fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring and online viewing features.
PFL currently features five live fighting franchises including PFL League Season, PFL PPV Super Fights, PFL Challenger Series, PFL International Leagues, and Bellator. PFL’s sports programming is available in 160 countries around the world through its network of global broadcasting and streaming partners.
“We are very proud and excited to be partnering with the Professional Fighters League,” said Panini America SVP, Jason Howarth. “The PFL has enjoyed tremendous growth and its events and athletes continue to engage fight fans all over the world. For our Panini MMA fans our partnership with the PFL will allow fans to collect Panini’s products that energized the MMA trading card category.”
Under the terms of the new multi-year licensing partnership, Panini will deliver new MMA trading card products that feature the PFL’s fighting franchises and professional MMA athletes.
The first PFL product collection will be launched through the Panini Instant direct-to-consumer ecommerce platform. The initial trading card line will be followed by the release of a limited-edition PFL Prizm collection later this year.
In addition to the co-branded trading card collections, Panini America and PFL will be partnering on a variety of key marketing initiatives and a series of digital NFT trading card collectibles.
“The Professional Fighters League is proud to partner with Panini America, an industry leader in sports and entertainment collectibles,” said PFL CCO, Bryan Calka. “The PFL values providing MMA fans around the world with a high value and premium experience. In Panini America, we have a partner that shares that ethos with the collector community.”
A subsidiary of The Panini Group, Panini America is a publishing, manufacturing and distribution company that specializes in creating officially licensed collectibles and trading cards for the U.S. retail market.
Panini America’s network of licensing partners includes a wide range of sports and entertainment brands such as NFL, WWE, NBA, NASCAR, FIFA, LIV Golf, Disney and more.
Initially founded in 2018, the PFL sports organization is backed by major investment companies such as SRJ, Ares, Knighthead, Luxor Capital, Waverley Capital, Elysian Park Ventures and more.