- Topps has produced MLB cards since 1951
- Fanatics will reportedly hand equity in new trading card business to MLB and MLBPA
- Fanatics, which was recently valued at US$18bn, also in talks with NBA, NBPA and NFLPA, Sportico reports
Major League Baseball (MLB) and its players’ union, the MLBPA, will end their 70-year partnership with sports trading card business Topps in order to team up with a new company controlled by sports merchandise giant Fanatics, according to multiple reports.
Topps has been producing MLB trading cards since 1951 and was handed an exclusive license by the league in 2009.
MLB last renewed its deal with Topps in 2018, but reports suggest North America’s preeminent baseball league will partner with Fanatics after the current contract ends in 2025. The MLBPA’s deal with Fanatics will reportedly start in 2023.
In a memo seen by Sportico, Tony Clark, the MLBPA’s executive director, told MLB players that the Fanatics deal would one of multiple new partnerships that could generate close to US$2 billion over the next 20 years.
In addition, Sportico and other outlets are reporting that Fanatics will give equity in its new trading card company to MLB and the MLBPA as part of the agreement.
Sportico also reports that Fanatics has been involved in discussions with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players’ association, the NBPA, as well as the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) over their trading card licenses. Panini currently holds exclusive deals with each of those organisations.
Earlier this month, Fanatics raised a further US$325 million and is now understood to be valued at US$18 billion. The company has more than tripled its value over the last year and reportedly expects to generate US$3.4 billion in revenue by the end of 2021.
Having established itself as a leading sports merchandise company, Fanatics is now looking to venture into a number of new markets, such as sports betting, media and sports collectibles. Michael Rubin, the company’s executive chairman, also launched Candy Digital, a non-fungible token (NFT) brand, in June.
Should the deals with MLB and the MLBPA be confirmed, it would be a major blow to Topps ahead of a proposed merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II. That deal, announced in April, valued Topps at US$1.3 billion.
Topps also holds trading card licensing deals with Major League Soccer (MLS) and the National Hockey League (NHL).
In other Fanatics news, the company has become the official ecommerce and physical retail partner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) New York Liberty.
The exclusive, multi-year omnichannel retail partnership with BSE Global, which operates the Nets and the Liberty, will see Fanatics power all online and in-person shopping experiences at Barclays Center for both teams.
During the 2020/21 NBA season, the Nets boasted three of the four top-selling jerseys with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Meanwhile, the Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu is currently the top-selling WNBA player jersey.
MLB and MLBPA will end their 70-year partnership with sports trading card business Topps in order to team up with a new company controlled by sports merchandise giant Fanatics, according to multiple reports.
