Leaf Trading Cards debuted its newest multi-sport release this week with a series of metal cards featuring the Sports Illustrated for Kids brand.
The first five-card set features top-ranked pickleball player Anna Leigh Waters and college football stars Jeremiyah Love, Fernando Mendoza, Diego Pavia and Bryce Underwood.
Each card will be printed to demand during a one-week release window and sold as a web-exclusive. Cards will retail for $7.99 each with discounts for orders of five or more, 10 or more and 25-plus.
First launched in 1989, Sports Illustrated for Kids cards have played an important role for collectors, with some releases considered either the earliest issue for key athletes or in some cases the only official trading card.
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“We obviously do a ton of NIL deals with high school and college kids,” Leaf president Josh Pankow told cllct, “so it kind of aligned pretty well with what we do.”
Pankow says Leaf’s deal with Sports Illustrated for Kids runs through 2026, and the company currently has plans for 100 or more athletes to appear. Leaf will drop five cards each week with a preference toward athletes who haven’t had an SI for Kids card before.
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Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the collectibles editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.