LIV Golf is finally teeing off into the hobby world. The Saudi Arabia-backed league has partnered with Panini on a multi-year deal to develop the first-ever licensed LIV Golf trading cards.
Upcoming Panini Prizm and Impeccable cards will feature match-worn memorabilia and autographs from LIV Golf stars such as Jon Rahm, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and others.
The first-ever official trading cards for professional team golf are HERE 🤝
Excited to announce @paniniamerica is the official trading card partner of @livgolf_league 📈
#LIVGolf #WhoDoYouCollect pic.twitter.com/K5G8i9JUX9— Panini America (@PaniniAmerica) February 22, 2024
This is the first time Panini is producing golf cards.
“LIV Golf is thrilled to partner with Panini, a global brand committed to connecting with fans around the world through the love of sport,” says Greg Norman, LIV Golf commissioner and CEO, in a statement. “Just as our league continues to innovate and bring professional team golf mainstream, our partnership will introduce new products to the market for millions of passionate fans and collectors to enjoy. As a former player, I’m particularly excited for our players and teams as we work with Panini to elevate their platforms in this space.”
These mock-up trading cards are 🔥
Pre-order for Team Sets are available online @PaniniAmerica’s website (link in bio) 🔗
*These trading card mock-ups are for illustrative purposes only, actual cards may differ. #LIVGolf #WhoDoYouCollect pic.twitter.com/GI6LAQw3Dk
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 22, 2024
Panini will also launch a LIV Golf Panini Instant card program where real-time cards will be released after memorable wins and tournaments as well as LIV Golf Team sets.
“I’ve been an avid collector of different types of sports memorabilia throughout my career, so to have the opportunity to partner with a premium trading card brand is personally very exciting for me,” says Ian Poulter, co-captain of LIV Golf Team Majesticks GC. “While trading cards are often times associated with younger audiences, I think this partnership between LIV and Panini is a great opportunity to bring professional golf level with other pro sporting leagues by creating memorabilia for the kid inside all of us.”
Controversy has swirled around LIV Golf since its inception in 2021. Critics have accused the league of trying to “sportswash” Saudi Arabia’s dreadful human rights record, including the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi whose death was sanctioned by the country’s government, a U.S. intelligence report says. According to Amnesty International UK, other human rights violations in Saudi Arabia include an increase in executions, cracking down on journalists and dissidents, discriminating and oppressing women, and torturing detainees, among others.
Collectibles just got another Majesticks GC twist 🔀 #PaniniLIVGolf
Joshua and Lilly can now rip and see if they can hit dad’s 1/1 🙏🏼👍🏼💪🏼@PaniniAmerica 🤝 @livgolf_league pic.twitter.com/q3pjgUZvr9
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) February 22, 2024
LIV Golf also poached many of the top golfers from the PGA, giving some guaranteed contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to jump. That raised the ire of many PGA golfers, including Rory McIlroy, who was very outspoken about defections to LIV. However, in June 2023, the PGA and LIV Golf announced plans to merge. But, as CNBC reports, the potential merger is still up in the air as a U.S. consortium agreed to invest up to $3 billion in the PGA Tour.
A merger deadline that was originally set for Dec. 31, 2023, was extended and a formal decision is expected to take place before the Masters Tournament in April.
Golf fans can now pre-order LIV Golf team card sets at paniniamerica.net, with additional products to be released in the near future.