World Cup Deal Is Latest in Endless Fanatics ‘Takeover’

“The really big element here is that it’s yet another example of Fanatics checking boxes as they complete their takeover of the industry,” Will Stern, who leads memorabilia strategy for Cllct, tells Front Office Sports. “Throw in the plenty of legal back and forth between the two over licenses like this, and it tells me that Fanatics is looking to complete their takeover of the industry and squash Panini like a bug.”

Panini’s World Cup products are highly regarded among collectors. But Fanatics’ way of marketing their products using athletes, influencers, and trading card breakers online is shifting the industry.

“Licenses used to reward manufacturing and distribution,” Brett McGrath, host of the sports card collectors podcast Stacking Slabs, tells FOS. “Now they reward attention.”

McGrath says the FIFA–Fanatics deal “felt inevitable based on the changing landscape,” and is “a different game than what Panini was built for.”

Panini projects about $1.5 billion in sales for each of the next two men’s World Cups, according to The Athletic.

“That’s a very different strategy than the traditional ‘print product and distribute it’ model that the sports card industry has operated under for decades,” McGrath says. “The FIFA deal feels less like a licensing change and more like another signal that collectibles are evolving into an entertainment and moments-based business.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the same in a statement announcing the deal, noting that Fanatics is “driving massive innovation in collectibles that provides fans with a new, meaningful way to engage with their favorite teams and with their favorite players.”

Fanatics and FIFA are already in business together, with the company serving as the World Cup’s official retail partner at stadiums and Fest Fests, and Fanatics Fest in July hosting the official press conference for the World Cup final.

“Through our cutting-edge offerings we look forward to helping grow both the hobby and the global game as a whole,” Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan said in a statement.

Collectibles creator Brendan Pereira, who goes by “Coach Koe,” tells FOS that the new World Cup debut patch will create a new highest tier of soccer cards, as Fanatics has mastered in other sports. “The potential for growth is massive,” Pereira says, especially as Panini has pulled away from focusing on specific moments. In baseball, Paul Skenes’ rookie card sold for $1.1 million at auction last year.

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