Collectibles On SI

Panini Just Lost Their Biggest Rookie Star For The Rest Of The Year

Before products really started coming out this year Jared McCain, one of this years best rookies is now going to be out

Adam Palmer

Dec 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) in action against the Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Dec 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) in action against the Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

For the second time in a calendar year, it looks like Panini is going to lose one of its most exciting star rookies to a season-ending injury. Earlier in the football season, it was JJ McCarthy, and now in the NBA, it’s potential Rookie of the Year Jared McCain.

For Panini, McCarthy’s injury was a significant blow because he was one of the few rookies who hadn’t signed an exclusive deal with Fanatics. In last year’s rookie class, Will Levis, CJ Stroud, and Bryce Young were all exclusive Fanatics athletes.

That means no Contenders autographs and no National Treasures rookie patch autographs. These are some of Panini’s biggest rookie autograph cards, and over the past few seasons, many star rookies haven’t had those cards.

Fanatics also signed the NBA’s biggest rookie, Victor Wembanyama, to an exclusive contract. All of his rookie autographs are featured on unlicensed cards because Panini still holds the NBA license — for now. Fanatics released several products with Wembanyama’s autographs, most notably an $8,000 box that primarily featured Wembanyama cards.

A lot of experts labeled this as one of the weakest NBA draft classes in over a decade. However, McCain had been playing lights out and was the consensus Rookie of the Year so far this season. His injury is especially unfortunate timing, as cards from this new rookie class were just about to start hitting the market.

McCain has appeared in other products earlier in his career, but many collectors were excited to finally start collecting cards featuring him in his 76ers uniform.

As with any new product, it’s important to be careful when buying the latest cards, as prices are usually inflated when a product first launches. With McCain sidelined for the rest of the season, there’s potential for his card prices to inflate even more as collectors speculate on his career. He had an excellent start to the season, and now, with a long recovery ahead, there will be plenty of time for speculation — further driving up his perceived value.

Published |Modified
Adam Palmer
ADAM PALMER

Adam has been a sports content creator since 2016, initially focusing on creating sports-related graphics for his Instagram page. In 2018, he transitioned to writing and podcasting about sports cards. Since then, he has worked both independently and with companies within the industry, producing podcasts, videos, and written content on sports cards.