Back in the day, I collected Kenner Starting Lineup figurines. There was a point, I recall, that some of them has some value. Even with the rising value of sports collectibles over the last couple of years, I don’t think Starting Lineup figurines grew much in value. In fact, I gave several of my figurines to my son, who immediately ripped them out of their boxes and began playing with them. There was more value to me in seeing him have fun than there could ever be in the boxes.
In 1991, Hasbro acquired Kenner and has owned the Starting Lineup brand since that point in time. I don’t think the company has produced Starting Lineup figurines in many years though. According to NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, Hasbro is bringing back Starting Lineup figurines:
It’s true: Starting Lineup is back. #WojBomb #StartingLineup @SLUOfficial_ #ad https://t.co/MLxQMKy0TP
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 22, 2022
What does this have to do with domain names? Hasbro is the registrant of the valuable StartingLineup.com domain name. Although this domain name hasn’t been used in many years, the company still owns it.
I think StartingLineup.com is valuable because it could easily have been used as a brand that is unrelated to the figurine branding. I would imagine Hasbro has turned down offers for this domain name from third parties.
Hasbro was wise for retaining this asset. The company has not started using StartingLineup.com yet, but it can when it wishes to do so. Had the domain name been sold or dropped, the company would probably be having MarkMonitor chase after it.
I will probably buy more Starting Lineup figurines for my kids. I don’t think I will be keeping them in their box like I did when I was younger.
