MLB & MLBPA to switch to Fanatics as new trading card partner

[soxhop411]

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are set to make a massive lineup change—ending an 70-year partnership with Topps to work with Fanatics on licensed trading cards starting in 2026.

Topps has been producing baseball cards since 1951, and received an exclusive license from MLB in 2009. That agreement was later extended through 2025. In 2020, Topps paid the MLBPA $20 million in licensing fees, the union’s largest source of licensing revenue.

Fanatics, recently valued at $18 billion, has expressed its ambition of expanding far beyond sports apparel. The company is the largest official sports merchandise seller, and has already been tied to NFT and sports betting efforts.

Fanatics has also had discussions with the NBA, NBPA and NFLPA regarding their trading card licenses (Panini currently has exclusive rights with each), according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.

All of the parties—the MLB, MLBPA, NBA, NBPA and NFLPA—are set to get equity in a new joint venture with Fanatics, as well as a possible portion of secondary sales. Panini will not be included in the new ventures, which will be led by CEO Josh Luber, founder of StockX, according to a source, who was granted anonymity because the matter is private.

The MLB, MLBPA, Fanatics and Topps declined to comment.

https://www.sportico.com/business/commerce/2021/mlb-topps-relationship-end-fanatics-trading-cards-1234637433/

this is going to piss a bunch of people off given how long Topps as been synonymous with MLB trading cards. Especially if the quality of the cards are worse than they were with Topps

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

I'm more heartbroken than pissed off.

 

[Murderer's Crow]

That's only going to drive prices for trading cards even higher than what they are currently. That last year of Topps cards is gonna be bananas.

 

[deanx0]

This news really sucks. I have been buying Topps baseball cards since 1976 and the idea of not having Topps, Bowman, Chrome, and Stadium Club is terrible.

 

[Ale Xander]

Topps was my fourth or fifth choice during the junk era (really preferred Fleer, Donruss/Leaf1 and UD) so don’t have many emotional ties to Topps, and also hate the monopoly of Topps/Bowman of the current times, but I hate hate hate this move.
Also hated when UD bought Fleer but this is much much worse

 

[ifmanis5]

Smart marketing move, sure to turn around the game's downward trajectory. Will the new packs come with a free stick of SpiderTack?

 

[vadertime]

I haven't done baseball cards in like 30 years, but I also remember there been Fleer, Donrus, Upper Deck, and maybe a couple of others in addition to Topps. Did they stop doing cards at some point?

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

I haven't done baseball cards in like 30 years, but I also remember there been Fleer, Donrus, Upper Deck, and maybe a couple of others in addition to Topps. Did they stop doing cards at some point?

See the second paragraph of the first post

 

[BernieRicoBoomer]

So, Fanatics has its hands in basically every part of every sport right now. They seem kind of...evil.

 

[DJnVa]

So, one exclusive to another?

Potato, potahto

 

[azsoxpatsfan]

Fanatics cards just seem to me like they’ll be sooooo corny. I’m not basing that thought in anything substantive tho. Hopefully I’m wrong

 

[Manramsclan]

If the cards are anything like the Fanatics branded merch, this will be a disaster.

 

[jtn46]

But, like, if you are Topps how are you getting outbid on the rights to print baseball cards? What even is that business next year?

 

[santadevil]

If the cards are anything like the Fanatics branded merch, this will be a disaster.

Agreed

But, like, if you are Topps how are you getting outbid on the rights to print baseball cards? What even is that business next year?

Time for them to cash out?
I wonder this too though

 

[MuzzyField]

If the cards are anything like the Fanatics branded merch, this will be a disaster.

Yes, but a word beyond disaster would be more on point.

Fanatics quality is so bad is sucks and blows.

 

[rymflaherty]

But, like, if you are Topps how are you getting outbid on the rights to print baseball cards? What even is that business next year?

If the Blowout forums are to believe, some are saying Fanatics outbid Topps by up words of x10.

I can’t help but be a bit cynical and assume the only reason Fanatics makes any sort of bid is because they plan on instituting the Panini model(s) of fuckery and ramping it to 11.
Fanatics saw the fervor for the exclusive Panini products they sold and that they essentially have a license to print money and they wanted a piece.

 

[Philip Jeff Frye]

It's all about driving the valuation. Get some hedge fund to invest at $25 billion now in the back of this deal, then go public via a SPAC, whisper about the NFT market, sell a big slug of the company to SoftBank and Alibaba at an even bigger number , and so on and so on... They seem like the WeWork of sports merchandise.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

Fanatics is one of the worst companies from which I have ever willingly purchased something. Quality, customer service, you name it.

 

[MuzzyField]

If they produce it, it sucks. If they are the Amazon and are distributing it you get to wait and it probably won't suck.

Is blows they are headquartered here in Jax and hire my students to continue the dive down. The students are great and create great content, but the quality if some of their products are beyond shit.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

Kinda crazy that topps was only paying MLB like $20m a year, seems crazy low (and guess it was!)

 

[mikcou]

This is pretty hilarious in the context of Topps going public.... via a SPAC.

It's all about driving the valuation. Get some hedge fund to invest at $25 billion now in the back of this deal, then go public via a SPAC, whisper about the NFT market, sell a big slug of the company to SoftBank and Alibaba at an even bigger number , and so on and so on... They seem like the WeWork of sports merchandise.

 

[brandonchristensen]

So crazy.

 

[LogansDad]

So, one exclusive to another?

Potato, potahto

Except in this case, Topps has consistently put out a really good product, and Fanatics, well.... not so much.

 

[Traut]

Except in this case, Topps has consistently put out a really good product, and Fanatics, well.... not so much.

MLB is doing exactly what it has done my whole life - take something good about the game and ruin it for short term gain.

The most logical thing here and there’s plenty of time for it to happen is to either by Topps or license its products.

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

Quite the nut punch on your 70th anniversary. I don't know anything about Fanatics, but the impression this thread is giving me is not good.

 

[Hoya81]

The NFL used to allow teams to run their own online proshops separate from NFLShop.com before consolidating everything under the Fanatics brand a few years ago. The Pats proshop used to have a lot of unique merch (especially throwback/Pat Patriot gear) that's mostly disappeared after Fanatics took over.

 

[nattysez]

The NFL used to allow teams to run their own online proshops separate from NFLShop.com before consolidating everything under the Fanatics brand a few years ago. The Pats proshop used to have a lot of unique merch (especially throwback/Pat Patriot gear) that's mostly disappeared after Fanatics took over.

Even more frustrating, the team brick-and-mortar stores still have cool gear and there is no way to buy it online. The SF Giants have some very cool tshirts that AFAICT you can only buy in person at the team store. Same story for the Warriors.

Beyond my buying experiences, all I know about Fanatics is that about 10 years ago, a buddy of mine uprooted his whole family to move cross-country to Jville to work in an exec role at Fanatics and left after 3 months because his boss was so bad. I have yet to hear anything about Fanatics that makes me think things have changed.

 

[JimD]

MLB is doing exactly what it has done my whole life - take something good about the game and ruin it for short term gain.

The sports trading card business was ruined a long time ago.

 

[Fishercat]

I feel like this is a big TBD. I agree, Fantatics isn't inspiring, and if their plan is to just develop their own brands, their own card creation operation, and the like this is probably going to be an unmitigated disaster. I am under the gut feeling this is a move by Fanatics to try and purchase one or more of the major card companies - sort of like they did with Majestic a few years back, Topps or Panini most likely. Fanatics probably doesn't want to lose the branding that collectors value or the lines they value and I don't know if they have the ability to build this from the ground up without a lot of growing pains.

The license is the big deal, but the 75 year (by the time this ends) history of Topps cards, and less extensive but still respected other lines (Bowman mostly I'd say but also other lines within Topps like Allen and Ginter, Chrome, Gypsy Queen, Stadium Club) likely represents real value to Fanatics and losing this license has put Topps in a terrible spot, especially if Fanatics secures the NBA and NFL licenses too. WWE, MMA, Soccer, and things like GPK really don't give it a big U.S. foothold like baseball did.

 

[Philip Jeff Frye]

This is pretty hilarious in the context of Topps going public.... via a SPAC.

Not any more!

 

[nattysez]

Something smells off here...

View: https://twitter.com/emmabaccellieri/status/1428825937022492672

 

[Philip Jeff Frye]

Wall Street Journal has the same story about Topps being completely blindsided by this. Michael Eisner on the phone screaming at Manfred yesterday afternoon.

I wonder if Fanatics tries to buy Topps at a bargain price for their brand and the back catalogue now. The main private equity owners have been looking for an exit for several years and were supposed to get out through the now collapsed SPAC deal.

 

[Hoya81]

View: https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1430489369484345346?s=21

Via Schefter “NFL Players Association is leaving Panini and signing a 20-year trading cards deal with Fanatics starting in 2026, per sources. And so the NFLPA is now joining MLB/MLBPA and NBA/NBPA in a new Fanatics trading cards company. All parties will have equity stakes in the new venture.”

 

[LoweTek]

This is pretty hilarious in the context of Topps going public.... via a SPAC.

No S**t! Seeing all you guys excited with your case breaks, unique card pulls, etc. I was going to buy into that SPAC weeks ago and got distracted, thank God I never got around to it...