Every collector intuitively knew that Fanatics winning the licenses to produce NFL and NBA cards was going to usher in some big changes for the hobby. We still don't know what is going to happen to Panini after they lost the licenses, with the company being sold to Fanatics or someone else very much still in the cards. However, what we didn't know until now was exactly how high the level of hardball from all parties involved would rise in the aftermath.
NFLPA is clearly taking a much harder line now that the licensing deal has taken effect. Generally, leagues and players haven't caused too big a fuss about other card companies existing and producing cards, as long as team trademarks and copyrights were not infringed upon. Really, having other companies like Leaf around gave players an added revenue source to tap into by just signing some unlicensed cards.
Those days appear to be over. According to reports, the NFLPA and NFL Players, Inc. made the somewhat surprising move to file a lawsuit against Leaf in DIstrict Court, alleging that the card company improperly used likenesses of NFL players without legal permission.
NFLPA's lawsuit against Leaf shows that the days of unlicensed card companies may be over
Importantly, this lawsuit only targets Leaf's football products, but we can expect the impacts to be wide-reaching. If NFL players are collectively taking legal action against Leaf, a card company that was paying those same players under the old terms until very recently, you can bet that Fanatics/Topps' rise is at least partially behind the impulse.
The rationale from a legal and practical standpoint is pretty straightforward. The less real competition in the card industry, the better for Fanatics' bottom line and, perhaps more importantly, legal trademarks and licenses are only as good as one's willingness to enforce them in court. It is possible, if not likely, that both NFLPA and Fanatics realized that they must crack down on the use of player images if they want to enforce their licenses in all cases they may want to in the future.
It is a truly ugly development in the card industry that is in the middle of a massive shift right now. What will be interesting to see next is if the NBA Players Association and MLB Players Association follow NFLPA's lead here. If they do, you can expect lawsuits against other smaller, unlicensed companies in the near future and "Fanatics monopoly" discussions shooting through the roof. If not, this lawsuit will still serve as a shot across the bow that this is a very different world now that Fanatics owns these licenses.
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