Topps and Major League Baseball To Announce Exclusive Deal Starting in 2010

Topps and Major League Baseball are ready to announce today an exclusive deal starting next year to make Topps the sole licensed producer of baseball cards according to an article by Richard Sandomir in The New York Times. The deal will return baseball cards to the era of exclusivity enjoyed by Topps for many years before Fleer was successful in opening up the market to other companies. Although Upper Deck still has a deal with the Players Association, it will lose access to the trademarks and logos of Major League Baseball. Sandomir specifically mentions in his article that Tim Brosnan, MLB’s Executive Vice President for Business, believes that the American Needle decision supports MLB’s exclusive deals with Chevrolet, MasterCard, New Era, Pepsi, and now with Topps.