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Hello Everyone,
I saw a recent interaction of the forum regarding whether or not team LOAs are important when buying modern game used items. While I am certainly not going to make a blanket statement for all current game used items, I would like to address whether or not it is important for a game used item to have team paperwork when it comes from a professional sports football team that has a deal with a memorabilia company.
Although we have yet to formally announced it, Game Used Universe recently completed a team deal with the Oakland Raiders and J.O. Sports, Inc. For those not familiar with J.O. Sports, Inc., they also have team deals with the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins. Among other things, the deal will give GUU and J.O. Sports, Inc. exclusive rights to market Raider game used items for the next three years.
While we were in discussions with the Raiders, I was speaking with someone who was interested in acquiring a game used JaMarcus Russell jersey. Prior to the GUU/JO/Raider deal, those knowledgeable in the industry were well aware that the Raiders really haven’t put many modern gamers out on the secondary market. Knowing it was nearly impossible to find legitimate current Raider game used items, I told this person I had some contacts with the Raiders and would let them know if I would be able to get them the jersey they wanted. In talking with the Raiders, I was able to find out that there had only been one legitimate JaMarcus Russell game used jersey previously ever offered to the secondary market and that jersey had been sold in a Raider auction through Ticketmaster. As things progressed with the Raiders and we knew that the deal would likely happen, I thought I would be able to impress our customer with our ability to provide him with this hard-to-find item.
As we completed the deal with the Raiders I went back to the customer only to find out they had already acquired what they were told was a JaMarcus Russell “gamer” from a dealer in the hobby. When I heard this I thought to myself, how could this dealer get a JaMarcus Russell gamer? The one sold through Ticketmaster almost surely went to a collector. What are the odds of the dealer actually having a legitimate JaMarcus Russell gamer, especially one without team paperwork? Quite frankly, I’d say the odds were almost zero.
As I thought about this I also thought about all the other supposed football “gamers” without team paperwork I have seen offered through various venues in the secondary market when I know marketing companies have rights to those items. While certainly there may be some instances where players may want to keep their jerseys or something along those lines, how many jerseys can there really be outside the ones going through the marketing companies when the marketing company has a deal with the team? I know the deal we have with the Raiders is exclusive and, although the Raiders do have the right to offer a few on their own in various Raider events, every Raider gamer will come with documentation from the team. How could it be then that our customer was able to get a JaMarcus Russell “gamer” from a dealer in the hobby without Raider paperwork?
I also know about the J.O. Sports deal with the Vikings. Although J.O. Sports doesn’t get every Adrian Peterson game used jersey, they get most of them and know where the ones they don’t get end up. How is it then that there are so many Adrian Peterson “gamers” being offered in the market, especially without team paperwork? And again, everyone who knows the hobby intimately knows it is just about impossible to get New England Patriots game used jerseys, let alone a legitimate Tom Brady game used jersey. Yet, I don’t know how many Tom Brady “game used” jerseys I have seen on the market in the last six months alone, a number of them with third-party authentication.
For those of you thinking these items are “getting out the back door” let me tell you that I have personally met with both the marketing and operations people from the Raiders. I will tell you that they are all knowledgeable, intelligent and highly ethical. In fact, I personally go to the Raiders facility to pick up the jerseys directly from them. To be honest, the idea that these jerseys are/will be “getting out the back door” is just not true. While I don’t want to take the liberty of speaking for others, I can tell you the same is also likely true for the Cowboys, Bears, Vikings and Redskins.
To go one step further, it is my understanding that the FBI is looking into where some of these supposed “game used” jerseys are coming from and I hope something is done about it. I also hope the entities selling these types of jerseys for consignors will begin to take more responsibility in what they are selling. Instead of putting money first and writing it of as it just being a “matter or opinion”, those accepting consignments should be aware of the deals these teams have with marketing companies and take responsibility when consignors try to sell these supposed “gamers” through their venues.
Lastly, collectors need to take the time to educate themselves as well. On items where they know team deals exist, they should DEMAND TEAM PAPERWORK. In my opinion, there will come a time when the general collecting community will become more aware of team deals and collectors will know there is just no way so many of these supposed “gamers” without team paperwork can really exist. I hope at that point those creating these items will be held accountable for what they have done. To me, it is no different than a counterfeiter only one uses paper as their medium and the other a garment. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. However, what I do believe is the ones who are really going to lose out are the ones buying these items believing they are getting “deals”. They will be the ones in the end who will be holding these suspect items when the general collecting community becomes more aware of the situation. As a collector, when you know a professional team has a deal with a marketing company for their game used items it is up to you to DEMAND TEAM PAPERWORK. Otherwise, you may end up being the one left holding the bag.
I saw a recent interaction of the forum regarding whether or not team LOAs are important when buying modern game used items. While I am certainly not going to make a blanket statement for all current game used items, I would like to address whether or not it is important for a game used item to have team paperwork when it comes from a professional sports football team that has a deal with a memorabilia company.
Although we have yet to formally announced it, Game Used Universe recently completed a team deal with the Oakland Raiders and J.O. Sports, Inc. For those not familiar with J.O. Sports, Inc., they also have team deals with the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins. Among other things, the deal will give GUU and J.O. Sports, Inc. exclusive rights to market Raider game used items for the next three years.
While we were in discussions with the Raiders, I was speaking with someone who was interested in acquiring a game used JaMarcus Russell jersey. Prior to the GUU/JO/Raider deal, those knowledgeable in the industry were well aware that the Raiders really haven’t put many modern gamers out on the secondary market. Knowing it was nearly impossible to find legitimate current Raider game used items, I told this person I had some contacts with the Raiders and would let them know if I would be able to get them the jersey they wanted. In talking with the Raiders, I was able to find out that there had only been one legitimate JaMarcus Russell game used jersey previously ever offered to the secondary market and that jersey had been sold in a Raider auction through Ticketmaster. As things progressed with the Raiders and we knew that the deal would likely happen, I thought I would be able to impress our customer with our ability to provide him with this hard-to-find item.
As we completed the deal with the Raiders I went back to the customer only to find out they had already acquired what they were told was a JaMarcus Russell “gamer” from a dealer in the hobby. When I heard this I thought to myself, how could this dealer get a JaMarcus Russell gamer? The one sold through Ticketmaster almost surely went to a collector. What are the odds of the dealer actually having a legitimate JaMarcus Russell gamer, especially one without team paperwork? Quite frankly, I’d say the odds were almost zero.
As I thought about this I also thought about all the other supposed football “gamers” without team paperwork I have seen offered through various venues in the secondary market when I know marketing companies have rights to those items. While certainly there may be some instances where players may want to keep their jerseys or something along those lines, how many jerseys can there really be outside the ones going through the marketing companies when the marketing company has a deal with the team? I know the deal we have with the Raiders is exclusive and, although the Raiders do have the right to offer a few on their own in various Raider events, every Raider gamer will come with documentation from the team. How could it be then that our customer was able to get a JaMarcus Russell “gamer” from a dealer in the hobby without Raider paperwork?
I also know about the J.O. Sports deal with the Vikings. Although J.O. Sports doesn’t get every Adrian Peterson game used jersey, they get most of them and know where the ones they don’t get end up. How is it then that there are so many Adrian Peterson “gamers” being offered in the market, especially without team paperwork? And again, everyone who knows the hobby intimately knows it is just about impossible to get New England Patriots game used jerseys, let alone a legitimate Tom Brady game used jersey. Yet, I don’t know how many Tom Brady “game used” jerseys I have seen on the market in the last six months alone, a number of them with third-party authentication.
For those of you thinking these items are “getting out the back door” let me tell you that I have personally met with both the marketing and operations people from the Raiders. I will tell you that they are all knowledgeable, intelligent and highly ethical. In fact, I personally go to the Raiders facility to pick up the jerseys directly from them. To be honest, the idea that these jerseys are/will be “getting out the back door” is just not true. While I don’t want to take the liberty of speaking for others, I can tell you the same is also likely true for the Cowboys, Bears, Vikings and Redskins.
To go one step further, it is my understanding that the FBI is looking into where some of these supposed “game used” jerseys are coming from and I hope something is done about it. I also hope the entities selling these types of jerseys for consignors will begin to take more responsibility in what they are selling. Instead of putting money first and writing it of as it just being a “matter or opinion”, those accepting consignments should be aware of the deals these teams have with marketing companies and take responsibility when consignors try to sell these supposed “gamers” through their venues.
Lastly, collectors need to take the time to educate themselves as well. On items where they know team deals exist, they should DEMAND TEAM PAPERWORK. In my opinion, there will come a time when the general collecting community will become more aware of team deals and collectors will know there is just no way so many of these supposed “gamers” without team paperwork can really exist. I hope at that point those creating these items will be held accountable for what they have done. To me, it is no different than a counterfeiter only one uses paper as their medium and the other a garment. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. However, what I do believe is the ones who are really going to lose out are the ones buying these items believing they are getting “deals”. They will be the ones in the end who will be holding these suspect items when the general collecting community becomes more aware of the situation. As a collector, when you know a professional team has a deal with a marketing company for their game used items it is up to you to DEMAND TEAM PAPERWORK. Otherwise, you may end up being the one left holding the bag.
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