Arkansas to partner with Topps in NIL trading card deal

Trading card fans rejoice, you will soon be able to add cards of top collegiate student-athletes to your collection.

Fanatics collectibles and Topps trading cards announced Thursday that a comprehensive agreement is in place to produce trading cards of football and basketball student-athletes beginning this fall, in an effort for athletes to earn profit through name, image, and likeness.

Flagship, the University of Arkansas’ program to aid student-athletes in finding NIL deals, also announced Thursday that Razorback student-athletes will have the opportunity to receive compensation by allowing their name, image, and likeness to be used on a trading card. One Razorback men’s basketball player, Nick Smith Jr., has already signed a partnership with the company.

In a statement, Fanatics says that the trading cards will feature official university trademarks with NIL rights from both current athletes and former players, and student-athletes will receive payment based on popularity of card sales.

“Both the schools and athletes benefit through rights fees and royalties paid on the sale of collegiate cards. Higher profile universities and student-athletes command larger rights fees driven by demand from collectors.”

Several of College Football’s top players have already signed an NIL agreement with Topps, including Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, and USC quarterback Caleb Williams.