Panini Signs Minor League Card Deal Covering Every Active MiLB Player

Panini America and MLB Players, Inc. announced a multi-year, non-exclusive agreement on September 28, 2026 that lets Panini make trading cards of every active Minor League Baseball player, according to the MLB Players, Inc. announcement. Panini plans up to 12 products a year with Minor Leaguers in them, starting with Three and Two Baseball in November 2026. The catch: the cards still won't show team names or logos.

What the Panini Minor League Deal Covers

The announcement is short, and every term in it matters for what ends up in packs.

Players

• Every active Minor League Baseball player
• Alongside the collegiate and retired players Panini already features

Products

• Up to 12 a year featuring Minor League players
• Named as examples: Donruss Elite Extra Edition and Prizm Baseball. The release doesn't say when Minor League versions of those ship, SI noted
• First release: Three and Two Baseball, slated for November 2026

Terms

• Multi-year and non-exclusive, so other card makers can sign similar deals
• No team logos or names, Sports Illustrated Collectibles reported

"Having Minor League players within the scope of this agreement creates significant depth across Panini's baseball portfolio," Panini America CEO Mark Warsop said in the September 28 release.

Why Panini Needed This Deal

Panini has been boxed in on baseball since 2022, when its deal with the players association lapsed as Fanatics took over, SI reported. Since then its baseball checklists have leaned on retired MLB players, USA Baseball players and prospects signed one by one through individual NIL deals, SI reported. One group license now covers thousands of Minor Leaguers at once.

Topps, owned by Fanatics, still holds the official MLB trading card license, and the new deal lets Panini build prospect-focused checklists around it, Sports Collectors Digest noted. That is why Panini cards show players without team logos or names, and that does not change here.

What It Means for Collectors

Prospect collecting runs through Bowman, Topps' prospect brand. Cardlines calls Bowman Chrome "one of the hobby's most important prospect releases," with first Bowman autographs as the chase. Panini now gets to put the same Minor Leaguers into its own products, so expect more prospect autographs on the shelf, starting with Three and Two in November.

What it won't do is replace a 1st Bowman. That designation belongs to Bowman, and nothing in the Panini announcement mentions any first-card or rookie designation for its Minor League cards. Our take: treat Panini prospect autos as a second, logo-free market for the same names, and judge each one on the checklist, the autograph and the print run rather than on a "first card" label.

A few practical notes for November:

• Three and Two is a small-format hit product. As of October 2, 2026, one retailer lists the hobby box as one pack of five cards (one autograph, one memorabilia card and three inserts or parallels) with a November 13 date. Panini itself has only said November, so treat the day as a retailer estimate.
• Prizm and Elite Extra Edition are the brands to watch. They are the two Panini named, and both already carry prospect checklists.
• Read the checklist before you buy. Covering every active Minor Leaguer describes the license, not who signs for a given set.

If you follow the Topps side too, our Bowman Chrome 2026 Mega Box guide covers this year's prospect autos, and the most expensive baseball cards list shows where the top of the market sits.

Where to Go From Here

Panini's first Minor League product lands in November, so the real test is its checklist. In the meantime, the Polkastarter marketplace gives you a free mystery pack when you sign up, and every Lootbox lists its contents, values, and chances before you open.

Details checked October 2, 2026. Release dates and checklists can change. Nothing here is financial advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with Panini America, MLB Players, Inc., Topps, Fanatics or the other companies named.

Sources

• MLB Players, Inc.: Panini America and MLB Players, Inc. announce multi-year agreement, published September 28, 2026, accessed October 2, 2026
• Sports Illustrated Collectibles: Panini gets license to produce Minor League Baseball cards, published September 28, 2026, accessed October 2, 2026
• Sports Collectors Digest: Panini expands baseball card presence with Minor League card deal, published September 28, 2026, accessed October 2, 2026
• Cardlines: The ultimate guide to 2026 Bowman Chrome Baseball, published September 13, 2026, accessed October 2, 2026