Hobby Musings: CJ Breen, Leaf’s Director of Marketing, Athlete Relations – Interview
Hobby Musings: CJ Breen, Leaf’s Director of Marketing, Athlete Relations – Interview Transcript
Editor’s note: Some text has been changed from original audio for grammar and clarity. Visit Leaf Trading Cards. Leaf on GoGTS.net
KS: Hey everyone, welcome to another edition of Hobby Musings. I’m Kelsey Schroyer, joined today by Leaf’s C.J. Breen. C.J., thank you for being with us.
CJ: Thanks for having me.
KS: So, we’re already a couple months into 2025, can you recap what Leaf has done so far this year?
CJ: Man, just in a few short months I think Leaf has innovated and provided a lot of unique products that really aren’t in the space, such as Power Slap, and things on the horizon such as the NLL products, the National Lacrosse League. PBR, and future bowling products coming out this year. A lot of cool we’re doing, a lot of cool announcements we haven’t even announced yet with movie licenses. So, there’s a lot of unique things coming on the horizon and things that we’ve already done. So, we’d like to think that we’ve already made some good headway this year.
KS: So, looking ahead to the rest of this year, you just touched on a couple things. Can you go a little more in depth on what collectors could expect from Leaf for the rest of 2025?
CJ: Well, top autograph signers in our products, especially our football products, our Pop Century this year headlined with some on card autographs. I know collectors love to get on card and we tried our best to listen to them. So getting on card autographs from Clint Eastwood, who’s never had an on card autographs. Margot Robbie, Mel Gibson. So just, more of what Leaf is good at, but providing unique ways to collect that they aren’t used to so far.
KS: Let me ask you this then, out of everything that’s coming in the pipeline, what are you most, as a card manufacturer who’s into this stuff himself, what are you most excited to get out there for fans?
CJ: Personally, selfishly, I like to think some of the smaller licenses and movie licenses just because there isn’t anything for those fans to collect. We announced the Saw movie series as a license. We have PBR. So the National Bull Riders Association is going to get cards again. So just me being a fan and knowing those people don’t have anything to collect currently, just providing them something that they can collect and maybe the next generation collects a bull riding card and now they’re into Leaf football or buying our other products.
That’s what I’m most excited for, but I know what majority of people are excited for is getting the Shedeur Sanders in our product. The Ace Bailey’s, the Dylan Harper’s. Having the top guys and top draft picks in our products are so important. I know that’s what the end consumer is looking for. Just keep delivering those, the value in our product.
KS: You mentioned some of the smaller licenses, things that either haven’t been done before or maybe haven’t been done in a while. Is there anything where the popularity and reception to the product has surprised you or surpassed expectations?
CJ: I think what sticks out the most is NLL. The fan base is rabid. Every time I make a tweet on our social media; I get a tweet: where’s the NLL product? Where’s this and that? We’re hopeful to have the product out by the end of the season. So, we’re working with NLL right now and crossing our T’s and dotting I’s and hopefully have a solicitation out for the end consumer and show some live cards. So, the number one pick in this year’s draft and, for a fun fact the Buffalo team in the NLL, the Buffalo Bandits outsell the Buffalo Sabers in attendance. So the more people attend this lacrosse team’s games than the NHL team which is crazy. So the fan base is massive. We’ve gotten a ton of success so far early on it. I’m interested to see some of the sales and comps once that product comes out.
KS: Talking about some younger athletes now, I know the last time we had spoken, I believe you were talking about Duke’s Toby Fournier as someone to watch out for. It feels like more and more we’re seeing Leaf announcing these autograph deals with younger athletes. I mean, NIL aside, like even younger than college. What is kind of Leaf’s aim in getting these athletes so young for their autographs?
CJ: I think the mindset about the going younger and younger is the mindset what if Patrick Mahomes had a high school trading card? Like, what is that worth? We see what his Leaf cards, his draft cards, sell for. They sell for an astronomical amount of money. If you were able to collect Patrick Mahomes in high school as a high school junior, a freshman, like, what is that card worth today?
When we have these all these types of players, we have Faizon Brandon, the number one overall recruit in this upcoming recruiting class. We have Julian Lewis the number two recruit, exclusive. All of these guys that you’re going to come to know in the next year or two, all exclusive, are never going to have another card besides Leaf. The 2026 quarterback recruiting class. One through 15, is all exclusive with Leaf. They are never going to have a trading card throughout their collegiate eligibility with another card manufacturer.
I don’t think people understand where this is going, but Leaf is going to be one of the dominant football players in this space come a year, a year and a half from now, when you see these guys put on their college uniform for the first time, I think that’s when collectors are really starting to collect. But if you flip that mindset, for example, when these people are collecting his first Bowman holding and prospecting, that’s our hope with these high school kids that you’re going to start prospecting these kids. I’m going to collect Faizon Brandon because he’s affordable now, opposed to trying to get in later when he turns into Patrick Mahomes. So at the price point we’re offering to these in the end consumer it’s much more affordable, much accessible for collectors to get in early and make their money.
But it’s funny you mentioned Toby Fournier she was just announced Rookie of the Year in the ACC. She’s been fantastic. I wouldn’t be shocked if Duke was a dark horse to make the Final Four this year. They’re a fun team to watch.
KS: That reminds me of another product we talked about the last time. It was your women’s sports dedicated product. You were really excited about that. The reception to it has seemed very positive. Is there going to be any follow up to that product?
CJ: Yes, there will be another Women of Sport. It’ll be coming out probably mid-summer. I was working today, and I was working the lines with some agents on some big new names going to be in this year’s product, finalizing some deals. Trying to top some of the names that were in last year’s product with some even bigger names that haven’t had autographs in products in a long time, that if you go on eBay, you’re like, whoa, they’re very expensive. So, trying our best to include new names, and people that have never had a card before. We just signed Kate Harpring, number one recruit in 2026. Exclusive. Her father is Matt Harpring, former ten-year NBA vet. So, we’re doing our best to get unique names. Unique signers that have never had cards before as well getting these, the household names that you’ve grown to love.
KS: When you work with athletes so young like this, do you feel like there are any potential pitfalls or disadvantages? I mean, you mentioned the price point being as affordable as it is this early in their career, but have you found there’s any disadvantages to dealing with athletes this young I mean, how low do you go? I mean, you eventually get someone like maybe baby Gronk. Or is there kind of a limit so far of like, hey, we don’t want to go quite this young?
CJ: I think the NIL space is interesting because it’s changing. It’s younger and younger. Like you said from the baby Gronk’s. It’s funny. I’ve talked to his father, but with NIL not being allowed for high school and then younger student athletes in Texas unfortunately he’s not going to be in our products right now, until the law changes. Younger and younger athletes have been partnering up with agents and, families try to capitalize on NIL. I think we’ve even signed eighth graders, which is crazy to think, a couple of years from earlier that would even be possible.
I think what the disadvantages collectors aren’t realizing yet. I can get the number one quarterback in this class for a fraction of what I can get a backup quarterback in the Big Ten or SEC. When those products come out of ours. So why would you not get the number one kid compared to, a backup? I think it comes back to collectors really care when the college uniform comes on their jersey, and they have a fan base around them.
Like, for example Julian Lewis, the number two quarterback in last year’s class, Carrollton High School has a big fan base in high school. But they don’t have the fan base that a Colorado has, so his cards have shot up in value overnight. As soon as he can announce where he’s going to school, all the collectors, fan bases were buying his cards. But, if you are following the football trends, you could have had his cards way earlier and made money and would have been a great financial perspective.
I know I’m bringing comps and things of that, it is a hobby at the end of the day, but a lot of people are in this industry to capitalize on it, or at least know that their money is well spent. So, trying to educate those like, hey, like this kid is number one in his recruiting class. Like you can get his cards for five, $6 now. And once he commits, once he gets to campus, that’s a $30, $40 autograph. I think it’s just an education thing. I think that the more we do on social media the more NIL news comes out I think the better for everyone.
I think if you go, if we look back on today and look at one of our Metal football products that have high school quarterbacks in it and we wait five years, when it’s the draft time. Like, dang, that’s a really great price. Like I’m glad that I have this product, or I’ve sat on it and now I’m going to open it like there’s, I think there’s a lot of advantages to it. Similar to, Leaf U.S. All-American games like, that’s Tim Tebow’s first cards, Tua, Justin Herbert. All these guy’s first cards. And look how expensive those were at one point, when it’s their first autograph.
So, I think it’s just in perspective, educating. And I love that NIL players are allowed to capitalize on their likeness. I think it’s great for the hobby. You’re able to connect with these athletes earlier and earlier, build that relationship and have more sweat equity in these players rather than is he just starting for my university.
KS: Listen, I’ll get you out of here on this. We touched on kind of the rest of 2025. What are some of the upcoming products, from next week and to the end of April that collectors should be keeping an eye out for from Leaf?
CJ: I would be eyeing on Leaf Futures Multisport. It has all the top rookies from Paul Skenes, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, Ashton Jeanty, Shedeur Sanders. It has Cam Ward; Cam Ward might be the number one pick they’re saying now. It’s all rookie and amateur based. This product is awesome. It’s foil packs, one of the first foil pack Leaf products. It’s going to be one to watch. It’s going to be very sneaky. I think that is a product to be a darkhorse, to be contender for one of the best Leaf multi-sport products of the year at an affordable price too.
KS: Sounds great. Can’t wait to see it come out. C.J., thank you so much for joining us today.
CJ: Thank you so much.
Hobby Musings: CJ Breen, Leaf’s Director of Marketing, Athlete Relations
Kelsey’s ability to bring hobby coverage to the mainstream sports fan has been a true asset. GTS is happy to feature his thoughts on collecting in Hobby Musings. The opinions expressed are his and do not necessarily reflect those of GTS Distribution.
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