The NFL Players Association’s effort last year to end its agreement with trading-card giant Panini early cost the union $7 million. 

A three-arbitrator panel ruled the NFLPA’s attempt to void the final two-plus years left in its contract with Panini to start a deal early with Fanatics was “invalid” and “constituted a breach” in contract, according to the one-page decision obtained by Front Office Sports. The NFLPA cited a change-of-control provision in the contract and reasoned a substantial change in Panini’s executive team was enough to trigger the clause.

The damage amount was determined by the lost profits Panini suffered during a 50-day span last year when the NFLPA refused to process new products for Panini to offer consumers under the agreement that runs through early 2026. Fanatics wasn’t a party to the arbitration. 

“The effort to terminate Panini was wrong from the start,” Stuart Singer, Panini’s lawyer from Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, said in a statement to FOS. “We now look forward to holding Fanatics responsible for their anticompetitive and wrongful actions in our pending suit in federal court.”

Puck News was first to report the arbitration outcome. 

The arbitration panel concluded Fanatics didn’t collude with the NFLPA ahead of executive director Lloyd Howell’s decision last August to abandon Panini, said a source with knowledge of the arbitration panel’s decision. That determination was reached after a review of all the evidence presented in the case, including communications between the NFLPA and Fanatics, according to the same source.

Last year, WWE also sought to use a change-of-control provision to end its deal with Panini. But a federal judge denied WWE an injunction and that deal remains in place. 

Legal Fight Wages On

It’s likely the arbitration decision will be leveraged in the legal fight between Panini and Fanatics. 

Last August, Panini America filed an antitrust suit against Fanatics, which landed deals in recent years with MLB, the NBA, the NFL, and their players’ unions as it entered the collectibles market. The NFLPA received an undisclosed equity stake in Fanatics as part of its contract. 

Days after the Panini lawsuit was filed, Fanatics countersued. In its complaint, Fanatics alleged Panini “is either unable or unwilling to legitimately compete with Fanatics Collectibles on the merits.”

Both cases in the Southern District of New York remain active and neither has a trial date. 

Golf isn’t considered a high-profile Olympic event. The sport has been part of only four previous Summer Games. After being played in 1900 and 1904, golf went on a 108-year Olympic hiatus before returning at the 2016 Rio Games. But golf’s two Olympic appearances this century coincided with some unfortunate circumstances. 

In 2016, concerns over the Zika virus gave top male professionals an easy excuse not to participate, as many publicly questioned why golf became an Olympic sport in the first place. The world’s top four ranked men’s players did not compete in the 60-person field. The delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 similarly struggled to attract a high-caliber field. The top two golfers in the world, and five of the top 10, didn’t play.

That was in stark contrast to the women’s Olympic golf competition, which drew nearly all of the top eligible players in 2016 and 2021.

A New Day

Momentum has been building around golf as an Olympic sport, though, and the Paris Games will feature two star-studded fields, with the men’s competition teeing off Thursday at Le Golf National, and the women’s being played next week. The famous course hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup and annually welcomes the DP World Tour’s Open de France.

The only reason the entire top 10 isn’t competing in the men’s tournament is because six Americans were ranked 10th or better as of final qualification in June, and one country can send no more than four players. “It hurts,” said Bryson DeChambeau, who narrowly missed out on making Team USA despite winning the U.S. Open. The golfer was set to compete in Tokyo but tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw.

LIV Golf members are not banned from the Olympics, but many like DeChambeau have seen their qualification status suffer due to the controversial tour not receiving world ranking points. Six LIV players qualified, including Spaniard Jon Rahm, a two-time major champion. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler leads Team USA, and Rory McIlroy is playing for Ireland.

McIlroy, who finished in a tie for fourth in Tokyo, told the BBC it’s “hard to say” whether the Olympics will ever be as prestigious as winning one of golf’s four majors because the format caps the talent pool.

But he acknowledged the distinct excitement of chasing an Olympic medal, and that the event could eventually mean more to the players as the years go on.

“I’ve never tried as hard to finish third before in my life,” McIlroy said. “Once you’re in there, and especially when you’re in contention for a medal, you feel the buzz of it.”

Better Together?

When Riviera Country Club hosts golf at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a new competition could be on tap.

A proposal to include a 36-hole mixed-team tournament was submitted to the International Olympic Committee earlier this year. In between the men’s and women’s competitions, 16 teams featuring one man and one woman would play one round of foursomes (alternate shot) and one of four-ball (best ball). 

“I’m all for that,” said Justin Rose, who won the gold medal for England in 2016. The International Golf Federation said it has received support for the idea from other top players and will continue talks with the IOC later this year.