Fanatics transforms into sports consumer platform

This shift means Fanatics is trying to turn a low growth store business into a higher value fan wallet business. Selling a jersey is a one time purchase with league partners pushing for more distribution, but betting, cards, and events let Fanatics make money from the same fan again and again, through wagers, pack openings, resale fees, ticket sales, and sponsorships.

• Commerce is still the base, but it is no longer the growth engine. In 2024, commerce was 77% of revenue at $6.2B and grew 8% YoY, while collectibles reached $1.6B and grew 40% YoY, and betting reached $300M and grew 50% YoY.
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• The logic is customer reuse. Fanatics built a 100M plus fan database from running 900 plus team and league stores, with roughly $19 customer acquisition cost, then bought Topps and PointsBet US so it could move those same fans into cards and sportsbooks instead of paying DraftKings style acquisition costs each time.
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• Live experiences make the flywheel physical. Fanatics Events launched Fanatics Fest in 2024 after also operating WWE World at WrestleMania, and the 2024 festival drew more than 70,000 fans, showing Fanatics can sell not just products, but a branded gathering where merchandise, collectibles, creators, and sponsors all sit in one place.
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The next phase is Fanatics looking more like a sports consumer platform than a retailer. If commerce keeps maturing and leagues keep spreading distribution more widely, the highest value part of the company will be the businesses that deepen fan frequency, cards, betting, and events, because those businesses compound customer data, engagement, and margin over time.