The NFL has made a huge decision.
A few weeks ago, E-commerce sports platforms Fanatics and Panini were said to have filed lawsuits against each other accusing the other of unfair business practices in a fight over licensing rights for NBA and NFL trading cards as Fanatics looks to grow its e-commerce merchandise platform to include collectibles and sports betting businesses.
It looks like Fanatics has won this war.
On Monday, it was announced the NFL Players Association informed player agents it had terminated its deal granting player names and likenesses for Panini. The memo said that Panini’s main competitor, Fanatics, would receive the rights three years early.
Panini America, the company that had league and players’ union licenses to produce NFL trading cards, alleged that Fanatics has “created an entirely new monopoly spanning multiple leagues and multiple players associations” in the industry.
Fanatics, in response, is “seeking damages and other appropriate relief […] in order to remedy Panini’s unfair competition, tortious interference with business relations, and breach of duty to negotiate in good faith.”
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Panini’s union deals with the NFL expired in 2026, but that is now over with.
The sports trading card industry is expected to eclipse $60 billion by 2027.
In its lawsuit, Panini alleged it was not “given an opportunity to bid or otherwise compete for the licenses Fanatics acquired” and “only learned about Fanatics’ exclusive agreements after they were consummated, through reading about them in the media.”
Now they have lost licensing agreements with the NFL.
In order to fully produce NFL cards as soon as the 2023 season, Fanatics would need to broker a deal with the NFL to hand over their rights earlier, too. Otherwise, Fanatics would be able to create cards with player names and likenesses — but not with team photos or names.
