Fanatics Trading Cards is still in acquisition mode. However, this time instead of landing big league licenses, it’s the Topps trading card business.
According to multiple reports including Evan Drellich of The Athletic, an official announcement is expected on Tuesday.
This past August, Fanatics jumped into sports cards by landing exclusive deals with MLB, the MLBPA, NBA, NBPA and NFLPA. These are set to kick in as current deals expire.
Although specifics of the deal aren’t known, it should mean a continuation of the Topps brand in baseball, a history going back to 1951.
Eventually, it could also mean the return of several brands in basketball and football including Topps Chrome. Topps’ NBA license expired in 2009. Their NFL deal ran through the 2015 season. In both instances, Panini took over with exclusive deals.
In August, Topps had been on track to go public through a merger with Mudrick Capital. Then came word about Fanatics’ deals with MLB and the MLBPA. That led to the merger being called off just a few days later and Topps remained private.
