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MLB & MLBPA turn to Fanatics for card licensing in 2026 -- and NBA and NFL are going exclusive, too

MLB & MLBPA turn to Fanatics for card licensing in 2026 -- and NBA and NFL are going exclusive, too

This entry was posted on August 25, 2021 by BlowoutBuzz.

Update: More details have been added since the initial Aug. 19 news.

Will it be the end of an era?

The Wall Street Journal, Sportico and Action Network are reporting that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are going to sign new exclusive licensing agreements to make their baseball cards via Fanatics -- the multi-faceted business giant that, well, has never made baseball cards before.

Topps and Panini America are the present card-makers with Topps holding rights to both licenses and Panini holding just an MLB Players deal. According to the reports, the Topps deal runs until 2026 with the union deal until 2023. Topps has made MLB cards continuously since 1951.

"The deal presents a major issue for Mudrick Capital, which is taking Topps public in a deal valued at $1.3 billion. While Topps will have five seasons left on its MLB deal, losing the license in the future automatically makes it a shell of its former self," wrote Action Network's Darren Rovell. "Sources said that Major League Baseball offered Topps the right to match the deal proposed by Fanatics and was unable to reach the number — not a surprising result given the fact that Fanatics is worth nearly 14 times what Topps is worth."

The Wall Street Journal story is here -- and they are reporting that Fanatics has deals with football and basketball unions as well to further shake up the card landscape. The present NBAPA and NFLPA deals run through 2025 and 2026. ESPN's story is here.

Update (Aug. 23): The Athletic is now reporting that the NBA has joined the NBPA to grant exclusive rights to produce NBA cards to Fanatics beginning in 2026. It will end an exclusive that began back during the 2009-10 season. That story is here.

Update (Aug. 25): The NFL is a league and union exclusive with Fanatics now, too, per Adam Schefter.

The Blowout Forums chatter is here.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

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This entry was posted in Baseball, Business Buzz and tagged MLB, MLBPA, Panini America, Topps, Fanatics, Licensing on August 25, 2021 by BlowoutBuzz. ← Previous Post Next Post →

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