House of cards, kits, and… conventions?

Not content with having a quasi-monopolistic hold over the world of sports jerseys, or constructing a multi-billion dollar empire from trading cards, or dipping its toe into sports gambling, Fanatics is now targeting the live event industry as well, unveiling plans this week for a “Comic-Con for sports”.

Fanatics Fest, slated to take place in August, will see huge names from across the sporting landscape — like Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, and Derek Jeter — take to New York to snap selfies and sign shirts for eager fans willing to pay through the nose to get near their sporting heroes.

Merch merchants

Fanatics started life in Florida as a brick-and-mortar store selling football jerseys and paraphernalia back in 1995, though it only really started to become the sports fan apparel giant we know today after it was acquired by Michael Rubin in 2011. Since then, the company’s grown at an extraordinary pace.

For example, in the summer of 2021, Fanatics wasn’t in the trading cards business at all. About a year later, it was its largest player, per FastCompany, after securing the rights to the MLB, NFL, and NBA, as well as acquiring trading card giant Topps.

However, not everyone’s been along for the ride: memorabilia rival Panini is just one of the entities to pursue legal action against Fanatics, accusing the company of “anticompetitive conduct” in a lawsuit.