Why Can't They (Topps & Upper Deck) Be Friends?

In wake of the NFLPA's decision to not renew Topps football card license, it makes me wonder why the card manufactures don't become business partners?  Instead of trying to compete with each other, why not join forces to create some great cards for the collectors?  The answer as to why that has not happend, and probably will not happened is business being business. In spite of that here is my case as to why it would benefit the hobby world.

It looks like the big three sports organizations are going to an exclusive contract with most of their products. It might frustrate the heck out of you that you can't get the NFL Sunday Ticket on your cable plan, but they went with Directv for a reason. It all comes down to money. But nothing in those contracts says that Topps and Upper Deck can't work together. Maybe it's using each others designs, and branding. They could trade players who are under exclusive contract. By teaming up, they now can get a piece of all of the trading card action, without having to single handily pony up the huge license to the big-3 sports organizations.

This isn't the early 1990's anymore where Topps and Upper Deck can just turn on the printing machines and sell whatever comes out. It's getting harder to sell product in the down economy, and its also getting more expensive to 'raise the bar' every year with innovative autographs and game-used cards. With the exclusive licensing rights, it shuts out competition between sets and manufactures. Meaning the product might be a little watered down, and the innovation not as cool, because if you are buying baseball cards in 2010, Topps is the only game in town.

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