A Fanatics commercial on the sideline billboard through the NWSL match between Houston Sprint and Washington Spirit at Shell Power Stadium on March 14, 2025 in Houston, Texas.
Aaron M. Sprecher | Getty Pictures Sport | Getty Pictures
Fanatics is ready to displace Panini because the unique licensee of FIFA’s collectibles in 2031, following an settlement with FIFA over the licensing rights for World Cup soccer collectibles.
The deal would see Fanatics increasing its current portfolio of licenses, which incorporates main sporting franchises just like the NFL, NBA and MLB, and is ready at hand the corporate a better foothold in a multi-billion greenback sports activities collectibles market.
However as Fanatics consolidates its grip on the worldwide sports activities collectibles market — a part of a rising $100 billion sector, in line with estimates from Morgan Stanley — its aggressive growth has attracted authorized challenges and accusations of monopolistic conduct.
Fanatical innovation
Beneath the brand new FIFA-Fanatics settlement, ranging from this 12 months’s World Cup, match debutants are set to put on “debut patches” on their inaugural matchday jerseys, which can subsequently be eliminated and distributed as unique buying and selling playing cards as soon as the settlement takes impact in 2031.
The follow started within the 2023 Main League Baseball season, after Fanatics acquired unique licenses to supply baseball playing cards for the league in 2021. Whereas Fanatics’ MLB deal was initially slated to take impact in 2025, it took over licenses to the league after buying earlier licensee Topps in 2022.
The shortage of such one-of-one debut playing cards have seen items retailing for hundreds on on-line resale platforms like eBay.
The follow of issuing debut playing cards in buying and selling card packs has since been replicated throughout franchises like System 1 and the NBA — different sports activities leagues the place the now Fanatics-owned Topps beforehand held licenses.
“With Fanatics, we see that they’re driving huge innovation in sports activities collectibles that does present followers with a brand new, a significant option to interact with their favourite groups and with their favourite gamers,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino mentioned in a press release on Could 7.
Fanatics’ different strikes within the sports activities collectibles scene have been underpinned by an identical spirit of innovation.
In 2025, the corporate’s collectibles division opened its first brick-and-mortar retailer in London’s Regent Road — a definite gross sales method, as rivals like Panini and pre-takeover Topps bought merchandise by means of distributors or on-line shops.
Buying and selling playing cards from Panini’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Adrenalyn XL assortment launched on March 25, 2026.
Bruno Fahy | AFP | Getty Pictures
Fanatics has additionally seemed to celeb personalities like System 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, who appeared on the opening of its Regent Road retailer, and social media influencer Logan Paul to drive engagement.
With its FIFA deal, Fanatics is ready to tackle unique collectibles licensing rights to the flagship occasion of the world’s hottest sport.
The 64 video games of the 2022 World Cup engaged 5 billion followers throughout all media channels, with the ultimate between France and Argentina reaching 1.42 billion viewers, in line with official figures from FIFA. Compared, Tremendous Bowl LIX in 2025 — the most-watched sports activities occasion within the U.S. — drew round 127 million viewers, Nielsen estimated.
In a Could 7 interview with CNBC, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin mentioned that the corporate’s collectibles division alone was anticipated to rake in $5 billion in income, whereas the firm — which spans merchandising, a sportsbook, a prediction market, in addition to an occasions and leisure division — was anticipated to generate $14 billion in income.
Troubled waters
However Fanatics’ aggressive strikes within the collectibles area has additionally drawn scrutiny.
Previous to its $500 million buy of Topps in 2022, Fanatics acquired licenses to the MLB, NBA and NFL — all of which had been initially slated to start after the top of Topps’ licenses in 2023, 2025, and 2026 respectively.
Most of the sporting franchises licensed to Fanatics additionally maintain fairness stakes within the firm. In 2022, the NFL led a $1.5 billion spherical of funding for the corporate, with a $320 million stake, after its gamers affiliation agreed on licensing phrases with Fanatics the 12 months earlier than.
No such fairness phrases, nevertheless, have been agreed on underneath the FIFA-Fanatics pact, a supply acquainted with the matter advised CNBC, who declined to be named discussing delicate issues.
In a March report, the American Financial Liberties Challenge (AELP) wrote that “the market consolidation by Fanatics has basically altered the merchandise and buying and selling card marketplace for collectors and followers.”
“Earlier than Fanatics’ acquisitions, competitors between Topps and Italian model Panini drove innovation in card design, high quality, and pricing. Now, with Panini’s unique licenses expired and Topps underneath Fanatics management, Higher Deck stays the one competitor, and solely in hockey,” the AELP added.
In 2023, Panini America filed an ongoing antitrust lawsuit in opposition to Fanatics over what it claimed constituted an try to “monopolize the markets for Main U.S. Skilled Sports activities Leagues buying and selling playing cards.”
“With out redress, customers will undergo, costs will rise, high quality will fall, and innovation will likely be stifled,” Panini alleged in its court docket submitting.
In its report, the AELP equally discovered that collectors had been reporting “vital value will increase for [trading card] packing containers and packs, with some merchandise doubling in value inside a 12 months of Fanatics taking up manufacturing.”
With the introduction of merchandise of better rarity — like one-of-one playing cards — the value of collectibles naturally will increase, significantly for extremely coveted gamers.
“Traditionally, youngsters and households had been the core patrons,” Ricardo Fort, founding father of Fort Consulting, advised CNBC in an electronic mail. “Right now, that is still true for mass-market merchandise, however grownup collectors have change into a serious phase, pushed by nostalgia, shortage, and funding potential.”
However whereas lowered competitors may result in increased costs and fewer selections, an organization with broad rights may additionally make investments extra in innovation, know-how, authentication and international distribution, he added.
In a current assertion to CNBC, Fanatics described Panini’s 2023 allegations as “meritless,” and added that the corporate “stays dedicated to creating the very best collector expertise throughout the globe.” The corporate, nevertheless, declined to touch upon broader monopoly claims.
Weakened competitors
After its buy of Topps, Panini and Higher Deck — buying and selling card producer for the Nationwide Hockey League — stay Fanatics’ most credible rivals.
Though the NHL entered right into a 10-year settlement with Fanatics over the manufacturing of NHL staff jerseys in 2023, the league additionally inked a “long-term” extension of Higher Deck’s buying and selling card licenses, which started in 1990.
In January, Higher Deck additionally launched one-of-one buying and selling playing cards that includes autographed swatches from the game-worn jerseys of league debutants, an initiative just like Fanatics’ debut patch playing cards.
Aside from FIFA, Panini holds collectibles licenses to franchises just like the Ladies’s Nationwide Basketball League, NASCAR and LIV Golf.
Nonetheless, questions grasp over Panini’s future.
In 2019, Panini America was sued for failing to meet requests for “redemption playing cards” — playing cards that customers may alternate for particular autographed copies.
These playing cards, nevertheless, couldn’t be redeemed as Panini had not gotten signatures from the related athletes on the time of sale, Larry Centola, lawyer from Martzell, Bickford & Centola, and one of many plaintiffs of the lawsuit, advised CNBC.
In a name with CNBC, Centola mentioned that the agency alleged that over 10,000 collectors had been impacted by Panini’s nonfulfillment of those redemption playing cards.
Though the case was dismissed after the agency was denied the category motion certification it sought — a ruling it selected to not enchantment — Centola mentioned he nonetheless receives emails from clients with comparable experiences — seven years because the lawsuit was first filed.
In October 2025, Reuters, citing sources acquainted, reported that Panini had picked Citi as a monetary adviser for a potential sale of the corporate. Citi declined to remark to CNBC on the matter.
“Panini’s lawsuit is nothing greater than a last-gasp, flailing effort by an organization that has misplaced contact with its customers and has tried unsuccessfully to promote itself for years,” Fanatics wrote in its assertion to CNBC.
In 2023, after Panini filed its antitrust lawsuit, Fanatics countersued Panini, claiming that “Panini has change into complacent, failing to spend money on advertising or innovation because it funnels earnings again to its homeowners in Italy whereas overtly making an attempt to promote its enterprise for almost a decade.” The case is ongoing.
Panini did not reply to CNBC’s requests for remark.
