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Panini signs Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, QB Shedeur Sanders to exclusive card deals
Panini America has signed 2024 Heisman Trophy Winner Travis Hunter to an exclusive autographed trading card agreement.
Hunter, who played both wide receiver and cornerback for the Colorado Buffaloes, is expected to be one of the top picks in the NFL Draft April 24-26.
Panini also signed a similar deal with Hunter teammate and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Hunter earned numerous awards last year at Colorado, including the Fred Biletnikoff (top receiver) and Chuck Bednarik (top defensive player) Awards. He also was the Associated Press Player of the Year and the Academic All-American of the Year.
The partnership will establish Panini as the sole producer of Hunter’s officially licensed autographed trading cards. Panini, whose NFL license runs through 2025, also will feature Hunter throughout its lines of Panini NFL products, including their Instant Card platform, as well as select Panini marketing activations throughout the partnership.
“Travis is a singular talent who has performed incredibly both on and off the field,” said Jason Howarth, senior vice president of marketing and athlete relations at Panini America. “He has a bright future ahead, and we look forward to supporting him both as he begins his NFL journey and in the years to come.” “As I enter into the professional phase of my career, I’m excited that one of the first deals is an exclusive autograph trading card agreement with Panini,” Hunter said through Panini. “As a kid, I collected Panini cards and imagined my face on a card one day. To know that fans will be able to get my Panini Rookie Card all over the world is a dream come true.”
A day later, Panini also announced an exclusive, autographed trading card agreement with Sanders, the son of former NFL great and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.
Shedeur is projected as one of the top picks in the NFL Draft after being named 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the best upperclassman quarterback in college football. Sanders threw for a school-record 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns for the Buffaloes last season with a 74% completion rate.
“We are proud to have Shedeur joining our team of exclusive athletes at Panini,” Howarth said. “He is an exciting player whom we have enjoyed getting to know, and we look forward to sharing his products with fans and collectors. Shedeur has a very unique perspective and we look forward to working with him to bring some of the key initiatives important to him to life.”
“This partnership with Panini is a great fit for me and it seemed so natural that it just made sense,” Sanders said through Panini. “As a kid, I grew up watching my dad sign Panini trading cards. To know that I’m now going to have my own Panini trading cards and that kids are going to want to collect mine, is a blessing.”
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