Did Anthony Davis and Panini break up?

[Digerati]

So...my favorite player and my main PC guy is Anthony Davis and I've been actively collecting his cards (autos, memorabilia, inserts and base) for the last 3-4 years.

He has signed A LOT of autos ever since his rookie year and you could find an Anthony Davis auto in pretty much every release from Panini. You could at least guarantee that the High end released had them.

But something changed last season and the last few products that Panini released had limited or no AD autos at all. It was especially weird that Immaculate had very few, Impeccable had one auto only #/5 and one metal plate auto #/10, and Flawless had no AD auto at all.

Then the 18/19 season started and so far this is what I'm looking at (correct me if I'm wrong) :

Contenders Draft Picks = NO AUTO
Hoops = NO AUTO
Donruss = NO AUTO
Playoff Contenders = NO AUTO
Revolution = NO AUTO
Certified = NO AUTO
Prizm = NO AUTO
Absolute = NO AUTO
Dominion = NO AUTO

Does anyone have info on this? Is he taking a break from signing or did his contract with Panini run out? Does it have something to do with his signing with Klutch Sports?

Sincerely,
A very sad AD collector.

[theLUCKYshow]

Hmmm interesting. I haven't heard of anything but it seems something's up.

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[Deadshot]

I think I remember some people speculating on this after Immaculate or Flawless (or maybe both) came out.

[smalltown]

I seem to remember someone saying his contract was up and he wasn’t interested in renewing.

[SHowley2003]

One of my PC players hasn’t signed since the middle of his rookie year. Personally, I am happy about it. Panini still released so many products that there are more autos than the market demands. However, those of us who got the rare on-card autos have autos that are truly limited. It also has resulted in Panini including him in fewer releases each year so the market isn’t over saturated.

[smalltown]

Originally Posted by SHowley2003

One of my PC players hasn’t signed since the middle of his rookie year. Personally, I am happy about it. Panini still released so many products that there are more autos than the market demands. However, those of us who got the rare on-card autos have autos that are truly limited. It also has resulted in Panini including him in fewer releases each year so the market isn’t over saturated.

I agree. It's not a bad thing. I'd actually prefer to rotate through players rather than the same guys year after year.

[JGDMSP]

Originally Posted by smalltown

I agree. It's not a bad thing. I'd actually prefer to rotate through players rather than the same guys year after year.

I agree too. Pippen didn't signed anything on card since 2016.
16-17 and 17-18 are all sticker I guess they did use old sticker sheets for those cards.
Personally I don't collect Sticker AU's anymore.

[slum22]

I believe AD has famously changed representation to Klutch Sports. I believe Klutch’s previous big clients were Lebron and Ben Simmons, who are Upper Deck exclusives. Is it possible that they are steering him towards being an UD exclusive as well? Whatever the case, if he’s not signing for Panini any more I wish I hadn’t sold my Flawless RC Auto of him last month, lol. Oops.

[Digerati]

Originally Posted by slum22

I believe AD has famously changed representation to Klutch Sports. I believe Klutch’s previous big clients were Lebron and Ben Simmons, who are Upper Deck exclusives. Is it possible that they are steering him towards being an UD exclusive as well? Whatever the case, if he’s not signing for Panini any more I wish I hadn’t sold my Flawless RC Auto of him last month, lol. Oops.

That's what I suspect. I don't view it as an all bad thing, my stuff will probably go up in value and I'll keep adding all the other stuff I can find from new releases. It's just a big change for me and the way I'm used to collect and add to my collection. And there is still a lot of autos that I don't own yet from previous seasons so I'll get to work on those

[Cavaliercards]

Interesting had not realized it.

[johnyensmith123]

Originally Posted by slum22

I believe AD has famously changed representation to Klutch Sports. I believe Klutch’s previous big clients were Lebron and Ben Simmons, who are Upper Deck exclusives. Is it possible that they are steering him towards being an UD exclusive as well? Whatever the case, if he’s not signing for Panini any more I wish I hadn’t sold my Flawless RC Auto of him last month, lol. Oops.

If AD changing agents to Klutch Sports is the reason, which certainly seems like it, that really sucks. It's already bad enough that there are no licensed autos for LeBron, Ben Simmons, and MJ. In fact, MJ and LeBron barely have any new autos anymore from UD. It would kind of suck if AD didn't sign anymore for Panini too.

[kingofsnake]

Below is a list of Rich Paul's Klutch Sports clients (taken from Wiki):

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
John Wall, Washington Wizards
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers
J.R. Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers
Eric Bledsoe, Milwaukee Bucks
Norris Cole, Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C.
Cory Joseph, Indiana Pacers
Trey Lyles, Denver Nuggets
Ben McLemore, Unsigned
Kosta Koufos, Sacramento Kings
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Los Angeles Lakers
Montrezl Harrell, Los Angeles Clippers
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs
Shabazz Muhammad, Shanxi Brave Dragons
Terrance Ferguson, Oklahoma City Thunder
Nerlens Noel, Oklahoma City Thunder
Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets
Marcus Morris, Boston Celtics
Markieff Morris, Oklahoma City Thunder
Darius Bazley
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

Not one player on the list above has an on-card Panini auto this year, I believe. Tristan Thompson and Eric Bledsoe have some sticker autos in Select and Crown Royale but that could be from old sticker stock. May be a good time to pick up some autos from the above players.

[Digerati]

AD doesn't even have a Downtown insert in this years Cornerstones. Panini must be pissed off!

[Beavers98]

I hadn't realized that either. Quite a few guys not signing for Panini. I do like Autos to be worth something, but I also like the chance to pull them...

[jbarnett83]

Same with my PC guy and I love it!

[yiguiri2002]

If AD, along with Wall and Draymond, doesn't sign for a while, it will be good for the hobby. If there is one thing Panini has done right the past few years is getting new signers or getting retired players to sign again (Lillard, Miller, Pierce, Barkley)

[dapro]

I think he stop signing is good as an existing AD collector. Might not be good for new collectors as the price will go up over time with less auto.