The sports e-commerce platform, Fanatics have roped in a deal with the trading card company Topps. In this association, Fanatics will obtain trading cards and collectibles of all sports leagues that have active agreements with Topps such as MLB, UEFA, Bundesliga, Formula 1 and Major League Soccer.
The deal is estimated to be roughly at 500 million dollars which will include the naming rights of Topps with trading cards rights of its sports and entertainment division. On this massive signing, Chairman of the popular retailer firm Michael Rubin said, “With trading cards and collectibles being a significant pillar of our long-term plans to become the leading digital sports platform, we are excited to add a leading trading cards company to build out our business.”
The deal was speculated as earlier Fanatics bagged the trading cards of Topps most prominent client, Major League Baseball. The trading card giant still has an existing deal with MLB, this association would allow the e-commerce platform to produce and distribute MLB cards right away. With this deal, Fanatics gain the benefit of using an established infrastructure and distribution system.
Showing trust in the online retailing firm, Michael Eisner, the owner of Topps called his company a “jewel in the Fanatics portfolio,” and commented on how the chairman of Fanatics is the “perfect entrepreneur” to carry the sports division forward.
After this acquirement, Fanatics moved ahead with its aspiration to lead the sports business sector. The firm’s trading card entity is valued at a whopping 10 billion dollars while it secured trading card licenses for the National Football League Players Association and National Basketball Association (NBA) last year. The platform recently also bagged a 10-year merchandise deal with the football club Paris Saint-Germain.
Topps has also been a significant company in the market having agreements with the top retail stores that includes Walmart and Target.