Hobby Musings: Wild Card ready to once again make its mark in the hobby – A few decades ago, Wild Card came into the hobby and made a name for itself with its innovative and colorful football cards. Deciding to get back into the game, Daniel Atkins and his son Ty set up at the National Sports Collectors Convention to display the new iteration of his brand. I had the chance to catch up with Mr. Atkins to discuss what got him back into the card business.
KS: What led to the Wild Card brand coming back?
DA: It’s been in my heart for the last 10 or 15 years. But as an entrepreneur, I was busy with other business over the years. My son Ty has really been on me the last couple of years to do it. About 3 years ago, we got really serious about bringing it back. We almost pulled the trigger then, but my plate was full. We committed about a year and a half ago to bring it back, and here we are. I retained the branding and Wild Card name to be able to make the product again. It’s been a joy of my life to partner with my son in rebuilding the brand.
KS: What challenges, if any, did you face in bringing it back?
DA: Of course, we chose the worse time to start a business during the pandemic. We’ve overcome tremendous obstacles with manufacturing and supply chains that every business is facing. It’s been difficult, but we’ve sold out of our first two rounds of product, and things are going well so far overall.
KS: How do you feel the new iteration of Wild Card taps into the nostalgia of the original line?
DA: We have a tremendous fan base that has continued to collect Wild Card over the past 30 years. It was a truly truly innovative company in its original run. We were the first company to release a multi-card parallel and the first to do redemptions among other things. Being a dealer myself prior to starting Wild Card, we wanted to create a company that dealers would be proud to be part of. We want to continue that brand of innovation and transparency.
KS: What differences did you make with the newer products?
DA: 30 years ago, we launched Wild Card at the National in Anaheim. We’ve continued with our striped concept, and we’ve introduced a 30th anniversary product that pays homage to our original design. We’ve innovated with our Thumbograph™ card, which has a player’s thumb or fingerprint and their autograph. Overall though, we’re sticking to our roots.
KS: What are some of the highlights collectors should be looking out for with the new 
products?
DA: Definitely the Thumbograph™ cards. We have a lot of other exciting things coming out, so we’d recommend that collectors stay tuned. Another innovate thing we’re doing with the Mega Box release is the parallel boxes™ and parallel chase packs™. We’re all familiar with parallel cards, but we’re taking it further with packs. One in every 10 packs will be a chase pack™, and they themselves are parallels. For example, a red pack will have all red cards, which are made at one tenth of the production of base cards.
KS: How were able to get your Bryce Young autographed cards?
DA: We were able to come to an agreement on an autograph deal for him. His dad was heavily involved with the deal. We’ve also signed Spencer Rattler. He’ll be in our NIL packs.
It’s important to be compliant with NIL rules, which can be a little tricky. That deal is going going to open up the door for both athletes as a business opportunity, as well as collectors to get these pre-rookie cards.
Check out the sell sheet for 2021 Wild Card Matte Football Cards Mega Box.
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