Fanatics Secures Exclusive League Rights

Exclusive rights turned trading cards from a crowded license business into a control point for Fanatics. Once Fanatics locked up league and players association rights, it could decide which brand reached collectors, then use the Topps acquisition to fill those rights with the hobby's strongest legacy brand. That shifted the fight away from shelf space and into contract access, which is much harder for Panini or Upper Deck to overcome.

• The key asset is not just card production, it is the legal right to print official league logos and player likenesses. Fanatics launched its trading card push after securing long term rights from MLB, MLBPA, NBA, NBPA, and NFLPA, then bought Topps in 2022 to add manufacturing, distribution, and collector trust on top of those contracts.
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• This changed the competitive map. Panini previously held major exclusive card rights, including an NFLPA deal that made it the sole manufacturer of NFLPA licensed trading cards beginning in 2016. As those rights moved, Fanatics did not need to beat incumbents product by product, it could replace them at the license level.
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• The same playbook is spreading beyond U.S. leagues. Fanatics Collectibles became the exclusive provider of Premier League trading cards, trading card games, and stickers from June 2025, and Topps returned as the NBA and NBPA exclusive trading card licensee for the 2025 to 2026 season. That shows this is becoming a global rights roll up, not a one off U.S. land grab.
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From here, the center of gravity in collectibles keeps moving toward whoever controls league rights, athlete access, and direct fan distribution in one stack. Fanatics is building that stack across cards, digital products, live selling, and memorabilia, which should make collectibles a larger and more defensible profit engine inside the broader sports commerce market.