Shams Charania (X: @ShamsCharania) officially announced today that the rumor circulating in recent weeks is true: LeBron James is no longer under contract with Upper Deck, but is now under contract with Fanatics Collectibles!
Starting in 2026, Fanatics and Topps will have exclusive rights to be the only manufacturers to produce NBA trading cards. Fanatics is expected to make every effort to release cards before that date. There have already been active negotiations between Panini and Fanatics. Fanatics had already reached an agreement with Topps in January 2022, allowing them to produce MLB cards before 2024. A similar attempt was made with Panini, but so far to no avail.
The dispute between Fanatics and Panini has developed into a real mudslinging match in recent months. The current trend seems to be to sign legendary athletes or new rookies in order to obtain exclusive autograph rights. A few weeks ago, Panini announced that it had signed Tim Duncan, another NBA legend who had not signed basketball cards for quite some time. But with LeBron as an exclusive athlete, Fanatics could more than follow suit! LeBron had also not signed any official NBA products in recent years because Upper Deck did not have the license.
Regardless of whether the two companies can agree on a deal or not, it is highly likely that we will see LeBron autographs on official NBA products again by 2026 at the latest!