Panini America, symptoms the official trading card partner of the NBA, announced today that it has reached exclusive trading card agreements with 12 NBA first round draft picks in advance of Thursday’s 2013 NBA Draft.

The agreements grant Panini America exclusive rights to produce officially licensed NBA Rookie Cards and autographed trading cards of these future NBA stars. The first Rookie Cards and autographs of the 2013-14 NBA Draft class will arrive in late October.

Panini has inked exclusive agreements with No. 1 overall Draft pick, Anthony Bennett (Cleveland Cavaliers), Nerlens Noel (Philadelphia 76ers), and fellow projected top-five selections Ben McLemore (Sacramento Kings), Otto Porter (Washington Wizards) and Alex Len (Phoenix Suns).

In addition to the five players mentioned above, Panini America also inked exclusive agreements with: Victor Oladipo (Orlando Magic), Michael Carter-Williams (Philadelphia 76ers), Trey Burke (Utah Jazz), Shabazz Muhammad (Minnesota Timberwolves), Cody Zeller (Charlotte Bobcats), Dennis Schroeder (Atlanta Hawks), C.J. McCollum (Portland Trail Blazers), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Detroit Pistons), Jamaal Franklin (Memphis Grizzlies), Shane Larkin (Dallas Mavericks) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (New York Knicks).

“We’re coming off of a truly historic NBA season that culminated with one of the greatest NBA Finals we’ve ever seen,” said Panini America CEO Mark Warsop. “Adding so many talented new faces to the Panini America NBA family for 2013-14 ensures that our momentum will continue and we’re excited about delivering the first Rookie Cards and autographs from this next class of NBA stars.”

The Jockey Club, the largest commercial group in British racing, have announced from 2013 they will offer £40million record prize money across its 361 scheduled fixtures in 2013.

The record level of prize money funding from Jockey Club Racecourses’ own resources is a 10.7 per cent increase above its previous record £16.8 million contributed in 2012 and once again represents more than 60 per cent of its projected available profit for the year.

The £18.6million injection accounts for nearly half (46 per cent) of the prize money available through The Jockey Club’s 15 racecourses next year. Industry funding of £15.1million represents 38 per cent of the total, while owners’ entry fees are anticipated to be £6.7million (17 per cent).

Jockey Club Racecourses’ annual contribution to prize money has increased by 50 per cent – more than £6 million – over five years (2009-2013) since prize money at its courses last topped £40million, before a significant drop in industry funding through the Horserace Betting Levy.

Revealing 2013 prize money plans for Jockey Club Racecourses, Simon Bazalgette, Group Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, said: “The Jockey Club exists solely for the good of racing and cares about the long-term health of our sport.

“Today’s prize money announcement is another demonstration of how everything we make goes back into British racing and the importance of providing a fair return to horsemen.

“The further increase in our own contribution to a record £18.6million, coupled with extra Levy funding next year, means a £5million injection into prize money on our courses in areas we believe will benefit horsemen the most, to a total in excess of £40million.

“Just to be clear, once again we are putting in more than 60 per cent of our available profits to prize money and this contribution exceeds the amount we receive through media race fees.

“I’m delighted that in the process of offering more than £40million in prize money next year, we have also been able to upgrade our race programme.

“Quality racing is vital to the future health of our sport and in 2013 we are focused on achieving this not only at large courses on weekends, but also at our small courses and in midweek.”

Paul Fisher, Group Managing Director, Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “Today, operating a racecourse business you must focus on a range of income streams, not just one.

“We’re working hard to promote quality racing and a diverse leisure and events business, with the single objective of reinvesting profits back into our sport.

“Whether it’s from gate receipts, media rights or staging a launch event for a new range of cars, every penny we make goes back in prize money, improving facilities or through new initiatives for the good of the sport.

“In 2013 we’ve set some challenging budget targets to enable us to increase our investment, but with a new structure, talented workforce and passion for what we’re doing, I’m confident about the year ahead for Jockey Club Racecourses.”

Richard Wayman, Chief Executive of the Racehorse Owners Association, said: “The £5million increase in total prize money is very welcome news for horsemen, and The Jockey Club deserves particular credit for increasing its own contribution by nearly £2million.

“The Jockey Club clearly appreciates that the recruitment and retention of racehorse owners is dependent on ensuring that a fair share of their revenues are invested in prize money.

“Their commitment to delivering improvements in the race programme is welcome, as is the fact that the increases in prize money will be spread across all of their venues and all levels of races.

“Looking to the future, we must now work closely together to secure formalised agreements that would benefit both horsemen and racecourses, thereby supporting the outlook for British racing beyond 2013.”

The Jockey Club’s racecourses are: Aintree, Carlisle, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs, Exeter, Haydock Park, Huntingdon, Kempton Park, Market Rasen, Newmarket July Course, Newmarket Rowley Mile, Nottingham, Sandown Park, Warwick and Wincanton.

 

So in the week that Bob Diamond steps down as Chief Executive of Barclays Bank amidst talk of Parliamentary enquiries into Libor rate fixing, rumours abound that Barclays is to extend its title sponsorship of the FA Premier League. Busy week over in Canary Wharf but as Diamond quit to avoid “corporate contagion”, what is the impact on the righstholder?

It’s an interesting question and in the world of sponsorship, it is more usually applied the other way around: how is the sponsor protected in the event of undesirable behaviour on the part of the rights holder? Title sponsorship has become a regular feature of the sponsorship industry but are rights holders missing a trick in aligning themselves closely with a single corporate entity?

There are many reasons why a rights holder might want to consider structuring its commercial programme to accommodate a title sponsor. It’s clean, it’s easier to manage and in many cases trying to find one big sponsor can take as much time and cost less than trying to find three or four smaller ones.

However it can be a double-edged sword. Agreeing to sign over the title rights to your product might not be the best long-term solution. The sponsorship can become bigger than your product, you risk ceding control over how your product is presented and ultimately you can lose equity in your own brand. You might also become overly dependent on one revenue stream, exacerbated still further when your title sponsor decides to move on as you may well find it harder to find a new partner who is willing to deal with the hangover of the previous sponsor’s legacy.

I’m not necessarily arguing that the FAPL is a weaker product for Barclays’ involvement, as the bank has supported the partnership with some good initiatives and through that, quite easily banished from the memory Carling’s title sponsorship. However I would argue that the FAPL’s brand – already less well known than several of its constituent clubs – is probably weaker for the involvement of a title sponsor. Travel to Asia and try to find anyone who refers to “the FAPL”.

There will no doubt be many people – for whatever reason – questioning whether the FAPL is tainted by the Barclays scandal. Experience of previous studies tells me that there will be limited knock-on effect onto the FAPL brand – there will be some who see the wealthy elite as being in league with each other but for the most part I think people are able to separate the two entities.

However, title sponsorship is not as straight-forward an option as it might seem and rights holders should think carefully before putting all of their eggs into one basket.

Ben has fifteen years’ experience in the commercial side of sport. Having spent six years at Chelsea FC, where he was Head of Marketing, Ben launched Ishtar Consulting in 2011 with a view to providing specialist sponsorship and marketing support to brands, rightsholders and agencies. Prior to his time at Chelsea Ben spent nearly four years at Redmandarin, the strategic sponsorship consultancy. Follow Ben on Twitter @ben_wells1 or get in touch via ben@thesportsconsultancy.com {jcomments on}