Sacra estimates Fanatics hit $8.1 billion in revenue in 2024, up 15% year-over-year. This represents significant growth from $3.5 billion in 2021, more than doubling revenue in three years.

The revenue mix is dominated by Fanatics Commerce at $6.2 billion (77% of total), which includes core apparel and merchandise sales through e-commerce and physical retail. Fanatics Collectibles, primarily trading cards, contributed $1.6 billion (20%) after growing 40% from 2023. Fanatics Betting & Gaming generated approximately $300 million (3%).

The company processes over 40 million e-commerce transactions annually and 25 million transactions through Lids stores. Both the commerce and collectibles businesses are profitable, with trading cards being the highest-margin segment.

The collectibles business has been particularly successful, with Topps' revenue quadrupling since acquisition (from $368 million in 2020 to $1.6 billion in 2024). Fanatics has secured numerous exclusive rights deals with major sports leagues, creating strong barriers to entry.

Fanatics was last valued at $31 billion in December 2022 following a $700 million funding round. In 2024, an employee share sale program valued the company at $25 billion, representing a 19% discount from its peak valuation. With 2024 revenue of $8.1 billion, Fanatics' current valuation represents approximately 3.1x LTM revenue.

Key investors include SoftBank Group Corp., Silver Lake, and Fidelity Management & Research Co.

Fanatics began as a roll-up of sports apparel retailers and manufacturers, and today generates ~80% of revenue through two core businesses: 1) being the exclusive maker and distributor of white-labeled jerseys for Nike and major sports leagues, and 2) operating ecommerce sites for over 900 teams, leagues and colleges, securing this position through equity partnerships with leagues (typically 1-2% ownership) and revenue sharing where partners receive 6-8% of all retail sales rather than just profits.

In 1995, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin launched GSI Commerce, an ecommerce-storefront-as-a-service serving big brands (Ralph Lauren, Dick’s Sporting Goods) and major sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA).

In 2011, Rubin sold GSI to eBay for $2.4B, bought back the sports division, and began aggressively acquiring team licensees, apparel manufacturers, and both brick-and-mortar and ecommerce retailers, including the Florida-based Fanatics, which would give the roll-up its name.

Fanatics found product-market fit as a vertically integrated sports merchandise platform for passionate sports fans seeking official team gear with real-time availability. By controlling manufacturing and distribution, Fanatics could rapidly produce merchandise responding to current events, like championship wins or player trades.

The platform operates as a one-stop shop for sports merchandise, allowing fans to purchase officially licensed products across multiple leagues. Fans can shop for jerseys, hats, collectibles, and other team gear through league-specific sites (NFLShop.com, MLBShop.com) or Fanatics' own marketplace. The company's "v-commerce" model enables just-in-time manufacturing of hot items, ensuring product availability during peak demand periods.

Over time, Fanatics has expanded beyond merchandise into complementary verticals that leverage its fan relationships and data. The company now operates Fanatics Collectibles (trading cards), Fanatics Betting (sports gambling), and Fanatics Live (live shopping platform). However, the core commerce business remains the foundation, generating approximately 75% of the company's $8B in annual revenue through exclusive partnerships with over 900 sports properties across 11 countries. The model's success stems from its ability to capture "hot market" opportunities that traditional retailers can't service, while creating alignment with leagues by sharing revenue regardless of where products are sold.

Fanatics is a vertically integrated sports commerce platform that generates revenue through direct-to-consumer merchandise sales, wholesale licensing/manufacturing, and operation of team/league online stores. The company has evolved from a pure e-commerce business into a global digital sports platform with three core business units: Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming.

Fanatics Commerce, representing approximately 77% of revenue, operates e-commerce sites for over 900 teams, leagues, and colleges while also manufacturing and distributing officially licensed sports merchandise. This unit includes both online sales and physical retail through Lids stores, where Fanatics owns roughly 60%.

The company secures its market position through exclusive long-term licensing deals (typically 15-20 years) with major sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. These partnerships often include equity arrangements where leagues own small stakes in Fanatics (typically 1-2%) and receive revenue sharing of 6-8% on retail sales.

Fanatics Collectibles, built around the Topps acquisition, focuses on trading cards with exclusive rights deals with major sports properties. This high-margin business represents about 15-20% of revenue.

Fanatics Betting & Gaming, the newest division, leverages the company's database of over 100 million sports fans to compete in the sports betting market against established players like DraftKings and FanDuel.

The company's vertical integration strategy allows it to maintain 40%+ gross margins compared to traditional retail's 15-20%. By controlling manufacturing, distribution, and retail channels, Fanatics can quickly respond to market events like championship wins with immediate merchandise availability.

Fanatics operates in a market that includes traditional sports merchandise retailers, trading card companies, and sports betting platforms, with its unique position as a vertically integrated sports commerce platform spanning multiple segments.

Dick's Sporting Goods represents Fanatics' largest traditional retail competitor with $12 billion in annual revenue, though their business model differs significantly. While Dick's relies on brick-and-mortar stores and a conventional retail approach, Fanatics leverages exclusive long-term licensing deals with major sports leagues and a vertically integrated model that maintains 40%+ gross margins compared to traditional retail's 15-20%.

Amazon poses a potential threat in online commerce, though their access to licensed sports merchandise remains limited due to Fanatics' exclusive deals. The NFL only began allowing licensees to sell on Amazon in 2021, while MLB still prohibits its licensees from selling there due to pressure from Fanatics.

Smaller competitors like Academy Sports maintain significant brick-and-mortar presences but lack Fanatics' scale and exclusive relationships with leagues.

The trading card industry represents a $25 billion market where Fanatics has rapidly gained ground through its acquisition of Topps for $500 million in 2022. This segment now accounts for approximately 15% of Fanatics' revenue.

Traditional competitors included Topps (now owned by Fanatics), Panini, and Upper Deck, with Fanatics disrupting the space by securing exclusive rights deals with major leagues.

Fanatics Collectibles has shown remarkable growth, with revenue jumping 40% from 2023 to 2024, reaching $1.6 billion with an EBITDA margin exceeding 20% - significantly outperforming comparable collectibles companies like Funko (4.5% EBITDA margin).

In the sports betting arena, Fanatics competes against established players like FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM, which collectively control about 85% of the U.S. market. Fanatics Betting & Gaming, launched in late 2023, has quickly captured approximately 5% market share.

DraftKings represents a key competitor with $4.6 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, compared to Fanatics' total revenue of $8.1 billion. However, Fanatics' betting segment remains its smallest business unit at approximately $300 million in revenue.

The U.S. sports betting market is projected to reach $40 billion by 2033, representing a significant growth opportunity despite the dominance of established players. Fanatics claims lower customer acquisition costs than competitors, leveraging its database of over 100 million sports fans.

Fanatics has tailwinds from the digitization of sports commerce and fan engagement, plus growing global sports fandom, and has the opportunity to expand into adjacent markets like sports betting, live experiences, and international merchandising. The company's unique "v-commerce" model and database of over 100M sports fans provide strong foundations for expansion beyond its current $8B revenue base.

Fanatics has built a powerful vertically-integrated model in sports merchandise, controlling approximately 35% of licensed sports merchandise sales in the US. Their exclusive long-term licensing deals (15-20 years) with major leagues create high barriers to entry. With 40%+ gross margins compared to traditional retail's 15-20%, Fanatics has significant cash flow to fund expansion.

The company's database of over 100 million sports fans represents a massive customer acquisition advantage. This data asset allows Fanatics to cross-sell new products and services at lower customer acquisition costs than competitors.

Their core commerce business generates approximately 80% of current revenue ($6.2 billion of $8.1 billion total in 2024). While growth may be slowing in this segment, it provides the stable profit engine to fund ambitious expansion.

Fanatics Collectibles has quickly become a significant growth driver, generating $1.6 billion in 2024 (up 40% from 2023). The trading card market represents a $25 billion opportunity that Fanatics has disrupted through strategic acquisitions and exclusive rights deals.

The Topps acquisition for $500 million has proven exceptionally valuable, with revenue quadrupling since purchase. With EBITDA margins exceeding 20%, this is now Fanatics' highest-margin business.

Additional rights deals with WWE, Premier League, Disney, and NBA launching in 2024 (with NFL in 2026) will further accelerate growth. The collectibles business demonstrates Fanatics' ability to leverage its relationships with leagues and athletes to dominate adjacent markets.

Fanatics Betting & Gaming represents the company's most ambitious expansion, targeting the US sports betting market projected to reach $40 billion by 2033. Though currently the smallest segment at $300 million in revenue, it's growing rapidly.

The company has quickly gained 5% market share in sports betting across 23 states, leveraging its fan database to achieve lower customer acquisition costs than competitors. While not yet profitable, this segment represents significant long-term potential.

Fanatics' integrated approach allows it to cross-promote betting with merchandise and collectibles, creating a unified platform for sports fans that competitors like DraftKings and FanDuel cannot match. This positions Fanatics to potentially become the "Disney of sports" - monetizing fan engagement across multiple channels and touchpoints.

Overreliance on exclusive licensing deals: Fanatics' core business model depends heavily on long-term exclusive licensing agreements with major sports leagues. These deals, while currently advantageous, create significant concentration risk. The NFL's decision to allow licensees to sell on Amazon signals that leagues may gradually diversify their distribution channels, potentially eroding Fanatics' market position.

Aggressive diversification diluting focus: Fanatics is rapidly expanding beyond its profitable commerce business into trading cards, sports betting, and other verticals. This strategy requires substantial capital investment and management attention, potentially at the expense of its core business. With betting operations still unprofitable and facing entrenched competitors with 85% market share, these diversification efforts may strain resources without delivering proportionate returns.

Vertical integration execution challenges: Fanatics' strategy of controlling the entire value chain from manufacturing to retail creates operational complexity. Quality concerns have already emerged with some products, and maintaining consistent quality at scale across multiple product categories presents ongoing challenges that could damage brand reputation and league relationships.