Carlsbad, CA (August 29, 2025) – Upper Deck, the worldwide leader in sports and entertainment collectibles, has been named to Front Office Sports’ 2025 Most Innovative list. The award highlights brands, leagues, teams, venues and more who are setting new standards for creativity and progress, as well as driving meaningful change for fans, athletes, and the sports world at large. At Upper Deck, our guiding principle is to create products that reflect our commitment to innovative design, quality craftsmanship, and authenticity. Being recognized as ‘most innovative’ is an honor, and a proud accomplishment.
Upper Deck is leading the way when it comes to the future of trading cards, memorabilia, and collectibles. New industry-altering initiatives are being implemented with every release that create unprecedented accessibility, trust, and inclusivity for collectors worldwide. The foundation for many of these innovations is Upper Deck’s online collecting and trading platforms. They bridge the digital and physical gap by allowing collectors to choose to keep their collecting online in the marketplace and stored with e-Pack™, or to make selections of shipping specific physical cards home. This creates accessibility to collecting to anyone, anywhere. Hobbyists around the world can buy, collect, store, and trade.
New technologies are allowing collectors to feel secure when buying trading cards, memorabilia, and collectibles. One recent example is Upper Deck’s Rookie Auto Patch Authentication feature. It’s designed to fight the industry’s massive “patch-swapping” challenge. Each card is slabbed, photographed, and serial numbered with QR codes that are used to access secure multi-angle image galleries for verifying authenticity before purchase, allowing collectors to finally have confidence in the card’s authenticity.
Upper Deck is also focused on inclusivity when it comes to new products and partnerships, expanding representation across genders and sports. At the start of its inaugural season, Upper Deck joined the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) in making history by being the first exclusive licensed producer of female-only physical and digital trading cards. Providing further visibility and representation across sports, Upper Deck is also expanding NIL (name, image, and likeness) opportunities for college athletes across the country, partnering with several organizations to create officially licensed trading cards for student-athletes.
We’re honored to be included on Front Office Sports’ 2025 Most Innovative list. Upper Deck prides itself on presenting fans unique ways to connect with their favorite athletes, teams, and sports. Whether it be through exclusive trading cards or authentic memorabilia experiences, Upper Deck is committed to helping fans collect the best, and we’re excited for the future!
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About Upper Deck
Upper Deck is a global entertainment company creating trading cards, memorabilia, collectibles, games, and online platforms that deliver the experiences collectors crave. Upper Deck has set the unmatched industry standard for quality, authenticity, and innovation, and continues to bring generations of fans closer to their favorite athletes and characters with unique and authentic sports and entertainment product offerings, as well as its digital trading ecosystem. The company prides itself on creating collectibles that produce invaluable experiences for sports and entertainment’s most dedicated and loyal fans, with a goal to deliver excellence to the community across the most coveted properties as a means to develop memorable moments for collectors of all kinds.
Find more information at http://www.upperdeck.com or www.UpperDeckBlog.com or follow us on Facebook (/UpperDeck), Instagram (UpperDeckSports), X (formerly known as Twitter) (UpperDeckSports), and YouTube (UDvids).
