Collector Nation - ONIT’s New Era: Alexis Ohanian, Gravity Baseball, and the Future of College Cards

Episode Date: June 30, 2026

Ryan Alford talks with ONIT Head of Product Cory Hollingsworth about the company’s biggest recent developments, including new ownership, the launch of Gravity Baseball, and what the next phase of ONIT could look like inside the hobby. Cory explains how Alexis Ohanian’s involvement changes the energy around the brand, why that matters for growth, and how ONIT is staying focused on fully licensed, on-card, college-driven products. The episode also explores the product side in real detail. Ryan and Cory get into ONIT’s first ion Optichrome release, what separates Gravity from earlier ONIT offerings, why the company believes fun and differentiation matter in pack opening, and how ONIT is trying to support both hardcore collectors and loyal fans of specific schools. They also discuss football plans, licensing realities, future team additions, and the challenge of building something distinct in a hobby dominated by bigger names. It is a useful episode for collectors who want more context around ONIT’s strategy and where college-card collecting may be headed next. Topics Covered What Alexis Ohanian’s involvement means for ONIT Why Gravity Baseball is an important release for the brand ONIT’s ion Optichrome debut The company’s commitment to on-card autos and licensed products Why college-card collecting is expanding The design philosophy behind ONIT products Football teases, future schools, and product expansion Ryan Alford and Cory Hollingsworth on building a long-term college-card brand Shop now at onitathlete.com and use code COLLECTORNATION at checkout to receive 15% off your first order! Links Collector Nation https://www.collectibles.show/ https://www.collectibles.show/episodes/ https://www.collectibles.show/about/ ONIT Athlete https://www.onitathlete.com/ Ryan Alford https://www.ryanalford.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/

We just recently were bought by 776 Capital and leading the charge there as Alexis O'Hanian. Having the founder of Reddit being part of our group now and leading that charge is fantastic. He believes in the product. We had sent to UCLA products and he's like, man, this is incredible. It's awesome to see his vision in this company going forward. Hats off to you guys for attracting his attention and hats off to him for recognizing what you guys have done with the product. You're going to see a lot of growth in a bigger sign of the commitment that we've already been making to supporting the sports that aren't just the ones that everybody in the hobby is talking about.

The hobby's becoming a little bit of the land of monopolies. I'm talking to you, Topps, talking to everybody. Let's keep it fresh and new. Welcome to the Collector Nation podcast here on the Collector Nation Network. Whether you're chasing grails or calling bluffs, you take you inside the hobby. Here's your host, Ryan Allford. On it, Athlete is having a major moment in the hobby. And Gravity Baseball is just one of those steps.

They were just purchased by Alexis Ohaniam. You might know who that is. We'll get to that and more. Today on Collector Nation, as we break down, what on it is doing to differing themselves in a crowded space with lots of upside. And let me tell you, they're hot, and you want to get after their newest releases.

Corey Hollingsworth joins me on Collect Your Nation today. What's up, Corey? Welcome to Collection Nation. What's going on, man? Happy to be here. Good to see you. Good to see you, man. Really enjoyed this partnership with you guys. I'm a big proponent of everything you guys are doing, supporting the college athletes. And you know what? You guys have made it easy on me because the product is and as head of product, I'll give you the compliments. It's differentiated and feels like a premium experience. And it's come a long way, man. Thanks so much. You know, it's been an awesome.

journey to see the growth of the company and the growth of the product where, you know, we're doing what we can to push the boundaries of what we can print, what we can, you know, get done, get across the line. And it's, it's been really exciting to see, you know, our partners really enjoy the changes that we've made and consumers also to talk a lot about, oh my gosh, this has been such a great product to really, you know, to see. So it's been really exciting to see how much we've grown just in the last year, year and a half or so. And it's been a really great thing to see. Well, good news and bad news is head of product.

It doesn't sound like that train to slowing down anytime soon. I know we're going to talk about a new release with Gravity Black, but I think for our audience, we'd be remiss. You've been one of the headline topics the last couple weeks in the hobby with just ownership news. No big deal. No big deal at all. not a known entity.

Yeah. Talk to me about what's going on there. Yeah, so it's been great. You know, we just recently were bought by 776 Capital and leading the charge there as Alexis O'Hannian. And, you know, as somebody who has been perpetually online for many years, you know, having the founder of Reddit be part of our group now and leading that charge is fantastic. He's, you know, even outside of that, you know, the way that he's, you know, the way that he's, he has really pioneered and champion women's sports and,

you know, all the groups that he's been a part of. It's been really exciting. He is someone who's a real fire brand. He's somebody who, you know, has a ton of ideas and a lot of great, um,

hope for the space and as a collector himself, you know, it's, it's great to have that where, uh, he's clearly coming in to, with some fresh eyes and some fresh ideas. And I think it's really going to inject a lot of energy here.

And, you know, again, he believes in the product. He's seen it. I remember we had sent him, I don't want to say, UCLA, some products last year. And, you know, because of our presence in the gymnastics space. And he's like, man, this is incredible. Like, it's great to see this and great to see the representation. So it's awesome to see, again, just his vision and what he really sees in this company going forward. And it's been exciting, an exciting couple of weeks, months.

It's been awesome. It's complimentary, though, to the work that you've done and the team there on it when, like you said, someone that's a, you know, has led a fire brand. It's sort of a fire brand, personal brand on some levels. Married to the one of the most famous women athletes, badasses on the planet, Serena Williams. You know, like I said, I mean, hats off to you guys for attracting his attention and hats off to him for recognizing what you guys have done with the product. with the work with college athletes, with recognizing what's happening, even a lot with,

you mentioned with women's sports, the energy around it, top to bottom. I think, you know, people have been, you know, maybe late to the game, but it's a lot of excitement

around sport in general. Maybe talk to about, is there anything that you can divulge that are, you know, already plans with Alexis or things that you are talking about that may not already be on the radar?

Well, I can't say too. Is it all under the hood? A lot of that's going to be under the hood, you know. It is still very much, you know, things are still progressing there. But I can tell you, I mean, I would say that you're going to see a lot of growth in what we've already been doing. You know, anyone who has understood or known what we do on it, you know, some of our most successful releases, some of our biggest ones that collectors look forward to every year are Nebraska volleyball. And, you know, we had Arkansas softball in previous years, Oklahoma softball, Texas Tech softball this year.

And then, you know, a few years ago, we were able to get Boston College hockey as well, which was a really successful release. So specifically Boston College women's hockey. And so I would say that you're going to see a lot of that movement. You're going to see a lot of that growth. But, I mean, ultimately, I think that you're going to see, you know, and as a with him being a UVA grad, I would expect to see maybe a little bit more. with Virginia, but we'll see. Yeah, but I think that you're going to see, I would say just a bigger sign of the commitment

that we've already been making to, supporting the sports that aren't just the ones that everybody in the hobby is talking about. You know, I've been in the hobby for, I've been a collector for basically my whole life and then been in this industry on the business side of things since 2012. And so I've been in the space for a minute. The hobby obviously has their darlings,

the things that they really gravitate toward. I love that what we've been able to do is focus on the team, focus on the players who aren't necessarily represented there. And I think that Alexis's support there is just going to be, you know, a catalyst to see a bit more of that too. Yeah, I can't wait to see you. You guys started to push the envelope, I mean, with your leadership on product, which I've seen the evolution of the product, the premium feel,

you know, leaning into some of the things. that make the hobby great with, you know, numbered things and parallels that feel differentiated, while also staying true to, like you said, the teams and, you know, the college experience. And I think you guys have really, I don't know, played a really nice balancing act with all of that. And I, you know, so to see you guys get infused with, you know, new energy and new ideas and likely some, some capital, I'm sure. The sky is the limit. And look, well, we need some competition here, you know.

The hobby's becoming a little bit of the land of monopolies. And I have no hate. Look, I love what Tops is doing. I love what everybody's doing. But let's keep it fresh and new. Well, I think that, you know, ultimately, we, we have a spot in the hobby. And we have a spot that I think collectors are really starting to see and enjoy. And, you know, we've said we're not trying to, you know, defeat fanatics.

We're not trying to get one over on Panini or anybody else. there's a certain area that we are really happy to support and you know there's there's opportunities there and there's opportunities for everybody you know there are other companies that can come in and do other things too very well and you know I think that the good thing about the hobby that I've seen you know obviously even though we are in a you know monopolization of the big leagues right now you do still have other companies doing really innovative really cool things both on the license on the unlicensed side. And, you know, I'm excited that, you know, the things that we stand for here, you know, being fully licensed, being fully on card, working with the players, you know,

paying more in NIL than anybody else. Those are the things that we really stand on. And that is not to say that what the other companies are doing isn't for them or anything else like that. This is what we really stand for. And, you know, there's innovative products that are coming out every single day. It's, there's more products in the market now than there have been in a long time and but there's really cool clusters and really cool things that are happening you know i'd say you see a new release every every week or so and sometimes you see something that's like man that's amazing that's fantastic so yeah there's plenty of room in the hobby i think it's it's it's not an or discussion it's an and and it's because i think a lot of collectors it's you know they

they want something fresh they want something different and you know collecting a college team and and, you know, like the athletes at that level, it is a different experience. It's usually a little different mindset, but I think it's opening up to more collectors to get them another avenue for, because a lot, you know, everybody likes to be ahead and know, you know, the guys are going to be pro, but then there's a guy that just want to support the team. And I think you're seeing more of that because as, again, whether it's women's sports, men's sports, whatever it is, more and more on television, because you've got so many more outlets

for media now, you know, like with all the different ESPNs and all the channels and all that, I mean, women's softball had its moment. I don't know what the ratings were, but I have to imagine they were great. I mean, I had friends. I didn't even, you know, like, you were watching what? I know that I watch anything that is this sports. I live, breathe and eat sports, but friends that I don't even say in the same thing, I'm like, so it's, it's having a moment. Well, you know, it's fascinating you say that because, you know, this year we went really long into both baseball and softball.

I think that we produced more collections this year in those sports than we have in previous years. And, you know, that's kind of where gravival. he came from too and we'll chat about that a bit I know. Yeah. For softball, I mean, you've seen people over the years, you've seen a little bit more interest ratchet up. You know, Oklahoma softball had its incredible run. In this last few years, you've seen Nigeria Kennedy who, you know, from Texas Tech,

who was making a lot of headlines. And then our own on-it athlete, Megan Grant this year, multi-sport athlete, you know, women's basketball, in basketball and in softball, making headlines in both sports. and she was a signature athlete in both of our programs. Awesome player, awesome partner for us. And, you know, I had friends who live in L.A., but they're like, oh, my gosh, she's breaking the home run record. And you see she's absolutely crushing it.

That old team was crushing it. But there were some incredible games and some big moments that we were able to see. And then even, you know, you mentioned softball. We worked with Georgia softball this year and recently produced a content piece with Kirsten Ruse, who was an incredible athlete on that team. And they went well into the playoffs, or yeah, into the tournament. And, you know, we were able to partner with her

and share her story a little bit. And it's awesome. There's a lot of great stories in softball and college baseball. I think college baseball, we've had some of the highest ratings in years. And it's been an incredible tournament. You know, we've just had Oklahoma baseball win and they were a partner of ours this year.

So we were super excited about that. There's a lot of great stories. stories to tell in collegiate sports. And it's not just, you know, in the big sports. It's 100% right. And, I mean, great transition point. Let's let's go ahead and get that cat of the bag with baseball. Gravity Black now at Walmart or Best Buy, you know, like, where are we going to be?

Talk to me about this product. What sort of, I know, I mean, imagine, you know, being a product guy, it's got to be exciting watching your babies come to life and stuff like that. But talk to us about gravity black. So gravity, yeah, it's just gravity, by the way. I don't know if you wanted to do anything. Yeah. It's just gravity. Just gravity. Yeah. Just gravity. Okay. That was all my show notes for some reason. You're good. We also have a product called black. So we have one that's called gravity. It's gravity and black. It's yeah, gravity and black. We can go we can go whichever way you want to have. Yeah, no, but I want to call it what it's called. Cool. Yeah. All right. We'll stick with gravity,

regular gravity. Yeah, I can edit that in. Perfect. Awesome. So, so, yeah, so gravity, you know, this is the first year that we've produced gravity. Previous to this season, everything that we did was just team side. So it was always just, you know, Oklahoma baseball or UCLA baseball or Indiana football, whoever it was.

But we introduced a couple of different brands. You know, my background. I've worked for Panini for a long time. Produced a number of brands over the years across multiple verticals there, NBA, and NFL, FIFA. And we had a lot of different, you really had to do a lot of work to create brands and things that could stand alone on the market. And we wanted to jump into that a little bit and create gravity where we're still staying true to who we are. We've got, you know, we're focusing on the whole team. We're focusing on these players who, you know, you'll see a lot of offensive

linemen and defensive linemen in our products that you're not going to see in other products. But with gravity, we took a step forward and just made a, a theme set, something that was a little bit different. And then for baseball, we kind of had this audacious idea to say, hey, well, what if we made this utilizing the licenses that we have? What if we made this a mixed product? And it's the first time that we've ever produced something that is fully mixed, fully blended, meaning it's not just a single team property, but you're seeing 10 of the top

teams in college baseball and all in that same pack and that same mix. And not only that, but for the first time, we were able to print on Optichrome technology. So this features our ion, the brand new ion technology that we're utilizing going forward. It won't be on every one of our products, but certain products will be able to utilize that. And yeah, so we took a look at the players that we were working with, the schools that we were working with. And we looked like, oh, my gosh, especially with the draft coming up, we have some players who people are going to be talking about through June, July, and even onward. And so we kind of put this all together and got the approval. got everything that needed to get done there.

And super excited to put this out on the market. We had great partners with MJ Holdings and SB images, who were distribution partners who found great opportunities there to get distribution in Walmart and Meyer and Best Buy and select hobby shops. And the initial response has been awesome. I mean, we've had a lot of people who are pulling great low-numbered parallels of Rock Chilowski, who's probably going to be the number one pick coming up this season

in the draft next month. And then you got a lot of people who were just understanding, oh my gosh, there's these great prospects. There's these people who had incredible seasons, incredible careers. And yeah, it's the first time we've put this out into the market.

And it's been really, really good so far. Is this the official Chrome, you know, or product for? This is the debut of our ion optic chrome technology. How? And,

you know, for someone experiencing that, Are we expecting like the optic, you know, like similar type thing, tops chrome, like similar type feel, right? You're going to see a very similar feel. This is printed with the exact same specs as your standard opti chrome that you can see in a prism and an optic and an optic and a top's chrome. It's the exact same specs. All groans up. All groans up.

But look, I've mostly said this. And I've said this in some of our features. You guys have pushed paper is pretty far, like in keeping it unique with some of the feels and the touch, like I give you guys a lot of credit for what you did on the paper side.

So I'm sure you're going to hit a home run once you're working with Chrome. You know, it was ambitious and it was a little scary first because, you know, I've worked with Opti Chrome products in the past and there's a lot that goes into it. Our print partner was really excited to push that with us and worked with our design team

and our pre-press team to make sure that the cards were getting done exactly the way we needed to. We went out and, you know, did press checks and made sure that every little detail was right. And, you know, it exceeded our expectations. When the sheets came back to our office in Boise, we saw our teammates who were just like googly-eyed because of how great it looked, you know. And we've, you know, to your point, we've made some really exciting products. We've had some great designs. And our design team knocks out of the park.

but we love what they've done. You know, but this is this printer just was able to come in and, um, and take that to the next level. And, uh, so yeah,

we're super excited about it. You know, it won't, like I said, it won't be on every single one of our, uh, products going forward, but it's just the same way that,

you know, top series one is on paper. Bowman, you know, Bowman Chrome is on, is on opti and, you know, you've got different,

um, looks and feels for every brand. And so we're excited for the gravity brand going forward and what that's going to look like. And it's going to be a good compliment. you know we also have black which we mentioned earlier um black has a different look and feel it has a different varnish it has a different yep yeah there you go that's the black that's the black product right there yes we if you just so you need to be watching we've got both we uh we have uh gravity and black right here exactly maybe that's where it came from gravity black it was stacked on top of one other yes

that's what it is we got gravity we got black together but yeah we're good and um yeah so black for example, it has a different kind of technology. It has a cool UV varnish on it as well as some great foil elements. And that, you know, we had some incredible cards in there. The Solaris and Polaris and Polaris inserts there were just beautiful. And yeah, and then, yeah, I'm just going to open it while you're talking, Corey. I'm just going to go in, you know. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. I love it. I love the, um, the texture on the paper you guys have pulled off like that, that kind of, uh, a swayed on some of the inserts. That's, that's awesome.

Yeah, you know that we had our blackout inserts for one touch and all that stuff. Like those ones, or the soft touch, rather, those ones had a really good, really good feel and everything else. It's just super great. I love what we've been able to do there. Oh, yeah. These feel premium. Nice.

Oh, I got an insert in here, I think. Of some sorts. I don't know what the Chris Braswell. Oh, so you got gravity football there. Gotcha. Yeah. There's a football. And these, I don't have to you're on to do Opti or not.

But that's not. That's kind of like our pre-opti, basically. So that was the first time that we had printed Gravity Baseball. But you see that, um, that look and feel with the varnish on there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And if you open the, um, the black as well, you'll actually see, um, that next step in that too. So the base set there, um, has a different varnish and look and feel. And there's some incredible inserts in there, too, um, that were, um, were on a really shiny substrate that that really brought a lot of those cards to life.

We have some inserts in there that are such as a send and access where you look at those and they're awesome. And then we have seven wonders in gravity. We've got all kinds of great inserts, hard to pull cards. And yeah, there we go. Just get all that out of there. Yeah. So this is actually, yeah.

So that one, you actually get a full base set right there. So that is the entire base set for, that was for Oklahoma, correct? Yeah, Oklahoma football. We had a great team. Yeah, Oklahoma football. Yeah, so you have the entire base set there, and then you have a bonus pack that's going to have an assortment of inserts, autograph parallels, things like that. Yep. We're just going to create phoma right here on set, Corey, with your product.

I get to open it live on or recorded, but in person here while we're talking. Oh, yeah. Perfect. Love it. Oh, okay. Oh, that's cool. Look at there. Got an auto right there out of the start.

That's a Isaiah Sotegna Satania, yeah He's a he's back this year He's gonna be one of their top wide receivers To 99 Nice And like Corey mentioned

And I want to say this I'm talking to you, Tops, talking to everybody OnCard is the only way Let's get rid of I want to start a hashtag no more stickers You know like no sticker autos years ago there was a there was a major CEO of a card company who had was proudly proclaiming on card isn't hard I won't say it's not hard but it's worth it's worth fighting for um you know we loved we love to be

able to my big thing is I just love being able to see an athlete see a card of themselves and sign it for the first time you know obviously there's a lot of players who've been hyped up for many years who've signed stickers and everything else but a lot of times they won't see a card of themselves and And so for me, I want to make sure that, you know, when we're doing these deals, that they actually get a chance to see the cards themselves. We've had a number of players who have just like, you know, stop, taking pictures, send just their moms, you know, show, hey, I'm signing cards. It's great.

These look awesome. I'm, you know, I'll be honest. I've opened quite a few already. So I'm both the, you know, talk about it and I'm a card carrying member of the Onet fan club. The, uh, but they're gorgeous. And these, I mean, not only the design. But the feel, you've got, it looks like the foil. I imagine that's what it is, foil wrap around that.

That's not easy to pull off. Let me just tell you on the printing side. Coming up as a marketing guy for, like, I know what it takes to print, this kind of stuff. Not easy. Yeah, it was, that one especially too. You know, that was a set where Skyler, who is our lead designer, he had an idea. we started talking with our print team about doing some cool things with that varnish so that you those cards had a cool depth to it so even though like the outer frame is is a dark black you see

this really cool varnish on it that oh and that's a i believe it's a salarice card right there is it is that a hit like a that's a huge one yeah that's one of the that's one of the rare ones that's satania too so i got satanato and this guy it looks like all right i'm going to say it out loud it It looks like a cooler version of a color blast. I don't know what you're talking about, but, you know, it is a really cool version of,

you know, the way that a lot of... This is the way I wish that certain other things are made. I'm just saying, it's a better design of... Because of using the tech... See, I'm an art design of art direction. God,

this is how it should be art directed. There's a lot of layers going on here that people need to appreciate and see. And with the foil and the refractor, Fractor built in gorgeous. Yeah. Gorgeous card. They, again, it was something that,

now, I think that you had, yeah, you had the one that's a little bit more of a swirl, correct? Oh, yeah. And another auto. Oh, great. With, this is Marian Robinson, number two. All right. Out of 49.

I'm telling you guys, like, this is like a gorgeous set of cards. And, oh, they do have the more matte feel and the blackout version telling you. Because it's not easy to differentiate. There's a lot of the same stuff going on. And you guys do it, though, with the designs and the feel, the look. I think that each product that I've been a part of, we've been able to improve the experience on. And that's not to say that we didn't have good experiences before, but just thinking about, you know, the importance of contrast when you're opening up a pack.

right. If you have, if you have 10 cards and they all look the same and there's not a lot of differentiation, you're going to be like, okay, it's cool. I don't know if I want to open another. But if you're able to open up a pack like that and see I got a silver auto, a red auto, this card is stunning and it looks totally different than the rest. And then I got my base in parallels. You want to be able to see, hey, I've got a lot of variety in here. And there's something that makes me want another pack. And there's part of that to me that, like, I just want to make sure, like, this is going to sound weird, but I'm a huge survivor fan. And whenever they talk about adding something new, there was a joke, there was a running thing about, yeah, but is it fun?

And for this, I'm like, when we're talking about, okay, opening something new, opening of a product, is it like, okay, are we having fun when we're opening it? Is it something that makes me want to open another pack? Those are things that we think about on a product side where it's like, okay, if this is the way that the product is going to get published, does this make you want to open another one? And that's, you know, that's the biggest thing is wanting to make sure it's a fun open. It represents the brand. It represents the team. And it makes you want to open something new.

It does. I'm telling you, like I'm sitting here and I've opened too. And I'm kind of like Jones end up and, you know, more. I happen to have some cheerleader ones from Boise State. It looks like I'm not going to open it because we want to save them for some customers. uh but uh but you just nailed it though because i was thinking and you made the point for me the differentiation from card to card and the design there i sometimes open packs and i'm like i'm like bored halfway through it yeah you know like it's not just because they're

base cards but they're not even interesting base cards it's like it's repetitive and i don't feel any of that with with these this feels like a premium experience that's awesome well thank you very much for that you know it's it's and i mean it just is something i mean yeah like we just want to make sure that we can we can have someone who whether they're buying a single pack for you know at the the campus bookstore or if they're buying a break online or if they're you know going full-on box and and pack openings everything else like that we have people who buy you know our single packs which is our standard you know pack that you would see at a campus bookstore. There are people who buy a hundred of those at a time. And they just go through them,

they rip them, and they love them. And, you know, there's got to be something there is to make them want to go and do it over again. It's not just auto chasing. It's not just, you know, a player collector or a team collector. It's, it's a fun open. And that's what you really want to have, too. It's just a good experience when you're opening the product. It feels different. I mean, that's the highest compliment I can give you because different is what sells. And it, I open a lot of cards and every time I open it on it. It's like it feels different. And it's not because the logo in the right top is different.

It's because it feels thoughtful. You've done a great job with this. The whole team has. And hey, when we get some chrome in the hands, who knows what happens? I mean, you know, we have to get that. And if anyone's listening, if you DM me on it, I'm going to send you a free pack on me.

So DM me on it. And I will send you a free pack out of my collection. And I don't do that very awesome, that I want you to on it, Instagram DM. And I'll send you a free pack. Corey, so we got football coming up. That's my favorite sport. What can we say or tease about On It Football in 2026? Let's see.

What can we tease and talk about? I would say more short print inserts. Okay, you got me? I'm hooked. There's the hook. Some that fall less than one per case that are ultra rare. City limits are going back to a rare hit too. And they will have a new look and feel that I think is absolutely stunning for team set stuff. You'll see a new addition to our lineup in terms of a new configuration. That info will be coming out soon.

there will be a couple teams making their first date their their debut as a football team for the audit offering can we name those teams yet or is it a surprise for a new launch to come it'll be a surprise okay surprise coming two new teams all right yep and then uh we also will be having gravity football and so you will be definitely seeing a mixed product with optichrome technology with our ion optochrome technology and more information is going to be coming on that one soon too. I love it. When do, I know you kind of have a sporadic release maybe based on team, don't you? They come out based on like when you get things done and those autos, the ink dried on the autos and everything else. No redemption cards, right?

No. If we have a redemption card, something has gone, little cray cray. At the same time, you know, it's something that we don't ever ambition to have. But if there were an instance, say, you know, we work with top universities. And if that player was going to sign with us and that person is the number one chase in the product. And we knew that they wanted to sign. It's the right person. I don't ever say never.

I don't ever want there to be redemption cards on our product. I never do. But, you know, if for some odd reason, there's, it's worth an issue that it's something we would look at. But it's not something we really ever want to do. But yeah, you know, to your point. Any names that we can name that have signed that aren't like surprises or is everything sort of under wraps for football? We're still under wraps. I mean, we've just had our first signings.

We've had three signings so far. We have another few planning this week. and then right after the 4th of July holiday, we're going to be having a ton of signing. So I'm always going to be a little bit more conservative on that where I don't want to say, hey, so-and-so is signing,

but, and then all of a sudden, they get both feet and they don't sign. Don't take it. That's, I like it. I never want to jinx it. I've seen too many times,

you know, I've been in this hobby for almost 15 years. I've seen too many times where something gets promised and not delivered. And I will always be, you know, much more cards to the chest for that. But I'll tell you, I mean, there's just a lot of really great stuff that's coming out. We've expanded, like at some universities, we've expanded how many people are signing.

So they're going to be more signature athletes. So you're going to see a little bit more of that. We're really trying to make sure that we have a good representation of players who we think are, you know, a mix of fan favorites, hobby darlings, as well as up and coming, you know, players who we think are going to be important over the next few years. So I'll tell you that, you know, we, we've really taken a look from top to bottom on these rosters. You know, our signature athlete research starts in January.

And our team has already been looking, has been looking at that, following transfer portals, following who's gone where and wanting to make sure that we get this out as soon as possible. You know, our hope is to have the majority of schools released in August. You know, there might be some that are a little bit later. but we want to be as close to week zero as we can. And, you know, because we want, we want people to be able to celebrate it and, you know,

capture the momentum for all of the great hype that these schools have. 100%. Is it, as far as signing schools, I mean, what can you say about that process? And, you know, like the audience would, you know, probably help them understand maybe what goes into that, you know, the negotiation. I mean,

to call what it is. It got to be, I guess, it's a negotiation on some level. But maybe what you can, what you can share about that process. Yeah, you know, it's, it is a process. We have a lot of schools who we work with that make it super easy. And then there's some that is just because they are great universities that have a lot of things going on, sometimes it takes some time. And, you know, it's a, it's a longer process. But we have an incredible licensing team, Samantha, who heads up our, licensing division. She has a great way of like communicating everything that we need and

understanding everything that university needs to really make sure that it feels as symbiotic of a relationship as it can be. And our, I would say that when it comes down to it, you know, we look at adding universities all the time. I think that, you know, I think this year we're looking at maybe 30 universities for football. I think that's kind of what we're looking at. So it's a little bit more than we did last year. But I can tell you that list might start out, depending on the year, that list might start out at 50.

That might start out a different number because we see value in working with so many different universities. And ultimately, we have to come through and take, okay, is there anything that we need to push back on? Is there anything where we need to say, no, we have to have this university. That's like a non-negotiable. Those are little things that we have to do. And we start that process as early as January. And so it is definitely something that, and I'll tell you this, like we're in that process already. right now for our winter sports.

You know, we're looking at a number of sports that we've produced over the last few years and saying, okay, can we do that earlier? Can we do this? Can we do more of this sport? Those are things that we're always looking at. And I'll tell you that there's a lot that goes into that. And, you know, even when it comes to our partners who help with group licensing and things like that to make sure that we have the ability to work with these athletes,

there's a lot that goes into it. And it's a lot of meetings. It's a lot of conversations. And again, our team from Samantha to Mike, who heads up our university relations, it's a whole, whole process. And we do a lot to make sure that everything's above board. Everything is, you know, to the licensees credit. You know, so we want to make sure that we're doing justice to them,

not just making the coolest cards that we want to do. Because if we just did that and we were reckless about it, then they wouldn't work with us. And so we want to make sure that. that we're supporting the schools, supporting the players, and while also doing what we can to make the coolest cards that we can make. I think you're having a lot more success than not on all those fronts. But whose heads do I need to go shake at Clemson to get them back on? I mean, they're 20 minutes down the road.

Can you name names? And I'm going to go chop some legs. I need my Clemson guys back out there. You know, I would love to have them back up. I would love to have them back, you know. I think that they're obviously a great university, and we had a couple of great releases with them. But, yeah, I would love to have them back. I think it's a future conversation.

But, you know, because I got dabble on speed dial. Don't let me, you know. Hey, he's got some sway. So I would think that he might be able to have the right conversations. I'll make my pitch for it. Here's what I'll say. Look, this is good for the athletes. And it's good for the school too.

This is free marketing and free promotion. Not free, but they're getting compensated. And you guys are taking care of the athletes, paying higher than anyone else. So I'll be your agent for the day on this and say, come on schools, like sign the dotted line, get your players out there. You get free brand and you get premium products. And now you're on Chrome. Let's go.

Yeah, right? Well, I'll tell you this. We, and this is a slight tip ahead, but I'll tell you this, We actually had a university that we met at an event. You know, we work at a lot of different events and trying to get our name out there and make sure that we're meeting with partners who we want to work with. They learned about what we did, found our cards, saw our cards, and said, hey, we have to have this for our university. And we've been talking with them now for four or five months about a sport, not football. And we're pretty much on the finish line of getting that across because they saw the value.

they see, hey, this is perfect for our university, perfect for our athletes. And it's a school that we were not licensed at. We had no connections to. And they saw our cards, fell in love with it, and we're wanting to make it work. So I'll tell you this, that there are schools that we're constantly looking at and evaluating. And there's a lot of groups that just say, hey, this is exactly what I want. And, you know, we're happy to be able to jump in and make that happen, make that a reality for them. Yeah.

I mean, I know it's complicated. I know I don't, I'm not making light of that. I'm just saying as I open another pack that, that it makes, it puts your players, it's marketing. It's an engine. And it's like the hot tide raises all shifts, man. Like y'all broke them. They're pretty. You're all like, it's got, I have to really know.

And we're not going to get into it. I'll drop this point. But, you know, like, I have to really know the reasons it falls apart. like sure and maybe it's more complex than I think it is but if it's just greed they need to play the long game with the brand more more impressions with their name more impressions with their players it's better for recruiting it's better for bigger brand deals like all that right i'll tell you this there there's the collectible space is just growing so fast so rapidly and you've seen just not even in the sports space,

you've seen collectibles go crazy over the last couple of years, seeing like One Piece, for example, the One Piece release was one of the hottest things on the market. And even on the TCG side, where Magic starts to do the other world properties like Final Fantasy and Lord of the Rings, those are going nuts too to the point where people aren't just using those for the utility of the game,

but just collect them because they like the property. And I think that there's a tremendous opportunity. where, you know, there's a lot of markets that aren't on the national stage that, you know, where we can work with them and create collectibles that are on brand that their fans are going to love. And to me, that is just incredibly rewarding to be able to see that come to fruition. So I'm excited, like, as somebody who, again, I've collected for well over 30 years. I've seen, like, I've seen the days from when, you know, I had the Dick Tracy cards back in the day. You know what I mean?

Dick Tracy and Teenage Mutantin' Ninja Turtles. Wait, that'll age me a bit. But from that to the days of score and pinnacle and upper deck and Fleer in the late 90s and then seeing what changed in the 2000s and everything else, this hobby is always evolving. And right now, you know, people have said, okay, there's all the stuff going on because of COVID, but it's like it's actually just the evolution of this industry. Like it was starting to go up already in the late 2010s. And it's just skyrocketing at this point.

And I think what's best about it is that it's not just the same old thing. There's constantly, there's been so much more innovation over the last, like, five, six years that has been really exciting to see as a collector to the point where people are having more ownership. People are having more excitement around what they're doing. And it isn't just going someplace, buying cards, and that's it. There's an experience with it. Yeah. And it feels like where maybe the COVID stuff. felt like in a natural like higher bump it feels more sustainable now because i feel like

there's so many more people and broader audiences and even institutional money uh coming in because they recognize it and you can't deny the values of like of these things anymore well even even on that same point like you mentioned the the value in it you know we pride ourselves on, you know, we haven't really been raising prices. Like, you know, we know that there's a lot of trading card products that could be a lot higher. There's ones that could be, you know, more price elastic. But we pride ourselves in being able to have something that the average fan, you know, even if they're just a team enthusiast, like we kind of talk about team enthusiasts, hobby enthusiast. When somebody walks into the bookstore at Virginia Tech or Georgia or wherever,

or Clemson someday, you know, to be able to walk. up and see, well, I've got TCU here. But, you know, if somebody just walks up and sees this and says, okay, that's 1299, yeah, that's great. That sounds good. You know, if they saw that and it was $175, they'd be like, what, why? I just want to support my team. And so we really have done a great job, I think, in making sure that, hey, this is still an accessible product.

This is something that caters to the fan of the team first. And then, but also, you know, making sure that it is something that's collectible, that the hobby enthusiasts is going to enjoy. and finding ways to, you know, thread that needle a bit. I would say you thread it. I mean, because I'm staring at what looks like a lot of premium cards at me that I've opened here that I wouldn't. You take the logo off it and I would just say that's a beautiful card. Yeah.

You know. We're going to keep the logos on, though. Yeah, I would. I would. It's good for brand. I just mean, it doesn't matter. It's just a well-designed product, you know. and the bias here is purely that this is a gorgeous card, and I think I'm going to keep it.

Sweet. That's for you, buddy. I know. I like it. Corey, how about some details? We got any of those details. We mentioned them all the time on the show, but website, where we can buy the newer products, all that good stuff. Awesome.

So if you head to on itathlete.com, so onatathlet.com will have all of our product information. You can see there's some product that is available for purchase there. If you go to our socials, we're generally on an athlete across the board. But if you go on to our TikTok and whatnot channels, you'll find we have breaks going on regularly. That's product that is readily available for anybody. If they want to purchase it sealed or if you want us to open it there, that's how that is all set up. And then you can find our products in campus bookstores. You can find us at Target.

Or sorry, you can find us at Walmart. You can find us at Best Buy. You can find us at Meyer. Gravity Baseball is in those locations now, actually. So you'll find those megaboxes at Best Buy and you'll find Blasters at Walmart and Meyer. And after that, we've got a few different places also that our distributors like to put our product.

I mean, you'll find them at local mom and pop shops. You'll find them sometimes at grocery store. So you'll see it across the board. If you're in a college town, you know, there's a lot of opportunities to find our products. And if there's some place that you want to see our product, please, by all means, let us know. And we can try and make that happen because, you know, we're always trying to find a right spot for fans to interact with our products. And then, of course, I'd even mention hobby shops. I mean, go to your local friendly hobby shop, talk to your neighborhood card store.

And, you know, if you're in a market that has a great college or university, so that you want to see support to talk to them about it. You know, we work now, I think we've published product now for over 75 colleges and universities across the country, you know, from Florida to Washington to Southern California, all the way up to Boston College. So, and just about everywhere in between. So we are, you know, really excited to continue to support college athletics and the players and, you know, really to continue to serve the fans who love these teams too.

Corey, man, it's been fun. I really love what you're doing. It's been fun. And look, I'm a big supporter and believe in what you guys are doing. And hey, if you're listening, you come to collector station, we've got it. We've got on it. So come here. And if you go to onitathlet.com and you use collector nation, you'll get 15% off your first order.

That's collector nation, all one word at onat athlete.com. And I'm telling you, if you'll DM me on it, I'm going to send you a free pack. and then you know where you can place your order at thecollectorstation.com on it and any other hobby product of your choice. But let me tell you, this one is staying with me. Corey, really appreciate it, brother. It's been fun. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Hey, guys, thecollectornation.com. That's where you learn more about everything we're doing.

We're bringing the hobby straight to you every week. We'll see you next time. Thanks for tuning in to the show. Be sure to follow us on your go-to podcast platform. Catch the full video episode over on YouTube. Visit us at collectornation.com and follow Ryan on Instagram at Ryan Alford. Now get out there and collect yours.