Upper Deck and AFL Success is in the Cards
Patrick Daly
Wednesday March 30, 2005
As a card collector myself, I’ve always been impressed with Upper Deck’s quality, which is an essential part of the new AFL product. Going back to their first release, Upper Deck set new standards for trading cards with their 1989 Major League Baseball set – one of my favorite cards in my collection is a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card that is card number one in Upper Deck’s first set. Now, working with the AFL and other photo agencies, Upper Deck has compiled what appears to be exciting action photos paired with their generally colorful and impressive artwork based on recent preview images.
For Upper Deck, adding the AFL to its already impressive portfolio made perfect sense. Upper Deck has already made a name in other major sports and non-sports arenas, so adding an exciting, up and coming sport to the portfolio was a logical next step in Upper Deck’s efforts to solidify itself as a leader in sports collectibles.
"Upper Deck offers a wide variety of sports and entertainment products," said Joe Fallon, Group Director of Product Sports Development for Upper Deck. "The Arena Football League is a perfect fit in our portfolio. There are some obvious synergies with our NFL line that help accentuate what we are doing there."
The opportunity to move forward with the AFL also gives Upper Deck an exciting new venue for adding new collectors and converting existing collectors as the league itself develops.
"We see a very strong fan base for AFL, and look to grow our efforts, as the league continues to grow," said Fallon. "The fast-paced, hard-hitting action is made for TV; a critical component to any growing sport. As the personalities of the league, including the owners, become part of the everyday sports dialogue we expect to see broader acceptance in our category. Our goal is to bring the sport closer to its fans. With game used memorabilia cards, autographs and great photographers, the ingredients are there for delivering the game inside a pack of trading cards."
Like the AFL itself, Upper Deck appears to be banking on the continued visibility of high-profile owners, like Jon Bon Jovi in Philadelphia or Tim McGraw in Nashville, as well as taking advantage of its relationship with the National Football League Players Association to tie the card set into former AFL players with NFL success, like Kurt Warner or Tommy Maddox. Even with those extras above and beyond the players on the field, the toughest choice was who to select from in the current rosters.
"Selecting players is more challenging than one might think," said Fallon. "Certainly on-field performance and star power are big factors, but we also look at who the fans connect with and the character of the teams."
The suggested price of $2.99 per 8-card pack fits right in with the current price point for high-quality trading cards, and the added bonus of the random insert cards should make this a great buy. The 90-card set will feature randomly inserted special cards, such as jersey cards and autograph cards. Like cards from other Upper Deck sets, the jersey cards will contain parts of game-worn jerseys from players like Dallas Desperados WR/DB Will Pettis.
I know we’ve seen a number of false starts in the past, the most recent a Donruss agreement in 2003 that never seemed to reach the finish line. However, based on the preview images and already visible commitment, it looks like Upper Deck has their product teed up and ready for kickoff. So, with this first in AFL history nearly realized, keep an eye out at your local retail outlets, team shops and arenas near you.
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
