Heisman Winner Matt Leinart Partners With Panini at Super Bowl LX
Matt Leinart has seen the game of football in every possible form. After growing up as a fan of the game, he went on to star in high school before committing to the USC Trojans to play college football.
Leinart would go on to make an unforgettable mark with USC, winning the Heisman Trophy and leading one of college football's great dynasties. Through every phase of his career, Leinart played with and against some of the greatest of all time. Following his incredible career in college, he was selected as a top ten pick in the NFL Draft.
The College Football Hall of Famer has been an analyst after ending his professional career, and his recent foray back into card collecting has allowed him to experience the game in yet another manner.
Matt Leinart's Partnership With Panini
Ahead of this year's Super Bowl, Leinart is in San Francisco at the Panini Prizm VIP lounge. The former USC and Arizona Cardinals quarterback is joined by several other NFL players and legends, and he spoke to Men's Journal about his experience in the card collecting hobby.
"My first stop as always at the Super Bowl, the Panini Prizm Lounge," Leinart told Men's Journal.
"These are my boys, I love collecting cards. I developed a great relationship with the guys at Panini over the last couple of years. More than collecting cards, but also the vibe, the energy of the company. It’s always fun to come here every Super Bowl and kind of hang out with the other guys. Panini always hosts, and they’re hospitable and all of that, and it’s always my favorite time when I’m at the Super Bowl.”
The former quarterback explained that it was an honor to see himself on a trading card, and talked about how he got back into the hobby with the help of a family member.
“It’s kind of like one of those things when you play video games and you see yourself in Madden or the college football game. You’re like ‘Oh wow that’s crazy,’ it’s kind of the same with the cards," Leinart said.
"I remember my first time seeing it. I wouldn’t say like 'I made it,' but it is kind of like ‘Whoa, this is really happening, this is really cool.’ It’s a hard feeling to explain, but you know you’re proud. You know that you work really hard.
Leinart Shares Collecting With His Family
One of the cool things about being an athlete, you get your chance to be on a card and you can collect them or even pass them down to your kids. I think as an athlete, you’re always like ‘Oh I want to be on a trading card one day,’ so it’s pretty cool."
Leinart said that he fell out of collecting cards after being into the hobby as a kid, but that his brother convinced him to pick it back up during the pandemic.
"I collected cards," Leinart said, drawing from his experiences as a child.
"My dad played baseball - my brother and I were about five years apart but we played all the sports. [Collecting] was huge back then. I have the Ken Griffey Upper Deck auto and some of the other cards from back in the day. We also had some [Michael] Jordan cards that we kept.
Before COVID, I kind of stopped for a bit. Life happens, right? It’s an expensive hobby. COVID hit and my brother got back into it, and he was like ‘Dude, you’ve got to go back into this.’
I opened up all my boxes of cards I had, I kind of went through them all - for example, my brother’s favorite player was Kirby Puckett growing up, so he had all the Kirby Puckett cards. We had a ton of Griffeys, a ton of old basketball cards, and it made me want to get back into it. That’s kind of where the spark reignited, and ever since then I’ve just been collecting.”
Another benefit of getting back into the hobby for Leinart is the ability to share it with his sons.
“It’s fun. My older son didn’t [collect] as much, but my two other boys who are six and almost five - anytime I get a pack of cards or a box, they always kind of sit with me and are excited to see who’s good and the different teams. It’s awesome, just passing it down to them," said the former USC great.
"I had some cards laying around the other day - we just moved my son into college so we were cleaning out his room - and he had a whole box of cards in there. Some of my old ones were in there, so my boys were excited to see me and see that I won the Heisman Trophy. They’re at the age where they’re starting to ask me more questions, so it’s really cool.”
Leinart's Thoughts on Super Bowl LX
Leinart is in town for the Super Bowl, and while he says he's neutral on which team he wants to win on Sunday, he did acknowledge that he's happy for some of his fellow USC alumni.
Congratulations to our #Projans headed to the Super Bowl ✌️‼️
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) January 26, 2026
????: Getty Images pic.twitter.com/7Od3RHfTpn
“I don’t really have a dog in the fight, but it’s just the pinnacle of football. It’s two great teams and they’ve had great years. I am rooting for [Seahawks quarterback and former USC Trojan] Sam Darnold, just because I know Sam well. [Defensive lineman] Leonard Williams, there’s a lot of USC guys over there," Leinart said.
Leinart also acknowledged the play of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, and said that it's hard not to be impressed by the job Mike Vrabel has done in his first season as head coach.
"I’m really just rooting for a great game," Leinart said about Super Bowl LX. "Obviously for me it’s a little more personal with Sam and some of those SC guys. Kind of hope he wins one, but it should be a good one.”
Panini is the exclusive trading card partner of the NFL. Fans can get Panini NFL Trading Cards at Walmart, Target, hobby stores nationwide and at www.PaniniAmerica.net.