{"id":2032514,"date":"2026-07-08T10:00:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2032514"},"modified":"2026-07-08T10:00:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:00:03","slug":"michael-jordan-extends-exclusive-partnership-with-upper-deck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2032514","title":{"rendered":"Michael Jordan extends exclusive partnership with Upper Deck"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NEW YORK \u2014 Michael Jordan<\/a> and Upper Deck have been tied together since 1991, and that relationship isn\u2019t going anywhere for a while. Or seemingly ever going anywhere else.<\/p>\n

The NBA legend and sports collectibles titan has become a \u201clegacy partner\u201d with Upper Deck, granting the company the exclusive rights to continue producing his authenticated autographed collectibles<\/a>. Jordan will also now be more involved in his product selection and creation.<\/p>\n

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Upper Deck president Jason Masherah told The Athletic<\/em> on Tuesday at Nike\u2019s House of Innovation in Manhattan that the trading card and memorabilia company approached Jordan about the expanded partnership, adding with a smile, \u201cEverybody goes to Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationship that we\u2019ve had with Michael for 35 years, it makes it very easy,\u201d Masherah said. \u201cThey are great partners, always have been. I don\u2019t expect that to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Specifics surrounding the terms of the new deal between Jordan and Upper Deck weren\u2019t made public. Nor was the mechanics of what comes of being a \u201clegacy partner.\u201d But it sounds like this will be a forever relationship between the two.<\/p>\n

Jordan said in a statement: \u201cI\u2019m proud to be Upper Deck\u2019s first legacy partner. For more than 30 years, this partnership has been about creating something different \u2014 cards and memorabilia collectors can\u2019t find anywhere else. I\u2019m looking forward to what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n One of the new autographed Jordan photographs being sold by Upper Deck. (Photo: Larry Holder)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Jordan is still one of, if not the most sought after athlete within the collectibles and memorabilia space. He\u2019s tied to the most expensive publicly known sports card sale ever<\/a> (an Upper Deck card). He\u2019s the most searched athlete on eBay every month.<\/p>\n

In an era where the vast majority of all-time and modern great athletes sign cards and memorabilia for Topps and Fanatics, including LeBron James, who signed an exclusive deal with them in 2024 after spending his whole career to that point with Upper Deck, keeping Jordan under the Upper Deck brand is \u201ccritical\u201d to the company\u2019s success, Masherah said. This currently comes at a cost to collectors, though. Despite this massive interest, Jordan hasn\u2019t appeared on an NBA licensed (featuring team logos and names) trading card since 2009<\/a> \u2014 at least, not legally. That\u2019s the last time Upper Deck held the required licenses to print NBA trading cards, which now reside exclusively with Fanatics for many years to come after 15 years with Panini.<\/p>\n

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Masherah also emphasized keeping Jordan with Upper Deck provides collectors a safe place to acquire authenticated Jordan autographed memorabilia when there are so many fakes and counterfeits floating around.<\/p>\n

\u201cUpper Deck and Michael are seen as hand in hand,\u201d Masherah said. \u201cThey\u2019re kind of intertwined the same way Nike and the Jordan brand is with Michael. \u2026 I think the thing that Michael doesn\u2019t get credit for enough is being the steward of his own brand. He\u2019s very selective with his partners. He\u2019s very selective with the way he is presented, the way he is marketed, the things he says. He is the best brand ambassador in sports that we\u2019ve ever seen. I don\u2019t think he gets enough credit for curating the Jordan brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Michael Jordan<\/div>\n

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To mark the extension, Upper Deck is introducing two new programs for collectors of Jordan autographed items.<\/p>\n

Twenty three factory-sealed packs from the iconic 1986-87 Fleer Basketball set, which includes Jordan\u2019s most famous rookie card, have been acquired through a buyback program. A redemption card for a Jordan autographed encased pack can be pulled from Upper Deck\u2019s 2026 multi-sport Goodwin Champions set, which goes on sale Thursday. One pack \u2014 numbered 12 of 23 \u2014 will feature a one-of-one inscription \u201cRookie Pack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upper Deck is also collaborating with eBay to auction a one-of-a-kind Jordan autographed 1986-87 Fleer Basketball sealed box that\u2019s inscribed \u201cRookie Card Box.\u201d Ten percent of the proceeds from this auction and 11 other Jordan autographed item auctions will benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The auction opens on July 30 and closes Aug. 9.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tA 1986 Fleer Basketball pack signed and inscribed by Michael Jordan. (Photo: Larry Holder)
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\n\t\t\t\tA sealed box of 1986 Fleer Basketball cards signed and inscribed by Michael Jordan. (Photo: Larry Holder)
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\u201cWe\u2019re really grateful to Upper Deck for including us in this because it\u2019s really more than memorabilia,\u201d said Corby Herschman, Boys & Girls Club regional development officer. \u201cIt\u2019s about investing in the next generation of young people. But it\u2019s a particularly exciting partnership because Michael Jordan is a Boys & Girls Club alum. So his story is a really powerful example of the influence and impact a club can have on the lives of a young person.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Upper Deck will also sell several new prints and memorabilia pieces to celebrate the extended collaboration. Jordan autographed pieces currently available on Upper Deck\u2019s website sell for between $7,000 and $40,000 each.<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
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The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Michael Jordan and Upper Deck have been tied together since 1991, and that relationship isn\u2019t going anywhere for a while. Or seemingly ever going anywhere else. The NBA legend and sports collectibles titan has become a \u201clegacy partner\u201d with Upper Deck, granting the company the exclusive rights to continue producing his authenticated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2032514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2032514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2032514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2032514\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2032514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2032514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2032514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}