By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Basketball superstar LeBron James has signed an exclusive deal to join Fanatics Collectibles, the company’s trading card division.
Terms of the deal were not publicly disclosed, but collectibles insiders say the deal could be worth roughly $5 million a year for James.
The deal sees James stepping away from long-time trading card partner Upper Deck, which has already seen a lot of its business taken away by Fanatics in recent years.
The deal with James is likely the richest ever signed by a sports star in a trading card deal, underlining Fanatics’ determination to dominate the market for sports collectibles.
“As someone who appreciates all the moments—big and small—along the journey, I’m excited to share more with my fans through this partnership with Fanatics,” said James. “In sports there is so much greatness to celebrate and I’ve always been one to take a moment to recognize that in athletes at the top of their games. It’s all about celebrating the journey and enjoying those moments, with many more to come.”
In conjunction with the partnership announcement, a unique card featuring James will be included in the 2023-24 Bowman University Chrome Basketball set, slated to hit retail Jan. 19. The card is an on-card dual autograph 1/1 alongside his son, Bronny James.
James appears in his high school uniform of St. Vincent-St. Mary’s (Akron, Ohio), while James Jr. is in his USC Trojans jersey. All-Americans Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers will also be included in the 100-player set.
Sports Card Company Panini Sues Rival Fanatics Over Antitrust Allegations
As a part of the launch, Fanatics will also release its Origin of Greatness video, which is narrated by James and focuses on the first moments of several Fanatics athlete partners and their paths to the top of their sport.
“We are both thrilled and honored to have LeBron join the Fanatics family,” said Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan. “Our goal is to push the envelope of where the hobby can go and are excited about how our collaboration with one of the best athletes in the world will continue to ignite fan and collector passion.”
The deal is another blow to Upper Deck and other players in the collectible cards market, as Fanatics has leveraged its relationships with professional and college sports leagues, not to mention a large financial war chest that often allows it to outbid competitors in the sector.
One case in point is the acquisition by Fanatics of Topps trading cards, which was among the top companies in the space for more than 70 years, selling products in more than 100 countries, and which held the lucrative contract with Major League Baseball (MLB) as the foundation of its business.
That changed when Fanatics aggressively pursued and won the contract with MLB, negotiating the deal at a time when Topps still believed the league was committed to the long-standing relationship.
Instead, MLB signed with Fanatics, and shortly thereafter Fanatics announced it had come to terms on a deal to buy its former competitor. Considering that Fanatics didn’t even have a trading card division until 2021, the speed of the Topps takeover and the overall domination of the trading card industry is quite stunning.
However, when Fanatics did launch the division, it very quickly signed deals with the top leagues in the United States, including Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).
Fanatics says “the addition of Topps, which also has rights with Major League Soccer, Formula 1, UEFA and Bundesliga, significantly accelerates the buildout of the Fanatics Trading Cards business, as the company adds world-class expertise, infrastructure, an iconic brand and a broad range of capabilities from the industry leader. The deal jumpstarts Fanatics Trading Cards’ MLB and MLBPA rights to design, manufacture and distribute trading cards, which begins immediately versus the original combined start date of 2026.”
Another of Fanatics’ competitors, Panini America, accused the company of trying to create a trading card monopoly, in a lawsuit filed in August last year.
Panini, which is a longstanding company in the trading card business, has accused Fanatics of using anti-competitive business practices in an attempt to dominate the market. Those practices include setting up exclusive, long-term deals with professional sports leagues.
Panini, which is represented by law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, alleged in its lawsuit in Tampa, Florida, federal court that Fanatics entered the trading-card market in 2021 with no “knowledge and expertise” and took steps to box out competitors.
Panini alleges Fanatics signed long-term licensing deals with the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association and each of their respective players associations. That could potentially cripple Panini, as it has an exclusive license with the NBA through September 2025 and, among others, an exclusive license with the NFL through early 2026.
The lawsuit also accused Fanatics of poaching Panini employees and unlawfully disparaging the company.
Panini alleges in its lawsuit that Fanatics is close to creating a monopoly for the entire sports trading card industry, and will either gobble up its competitors or drive them out of business.
“Because of Fanatics’ anticompetitive conduct, the major U.S. professional sports leagues trading cards market will be entirely controlled by a single firm for decades,” Panini’s lawsuit alleged.
Fanatics denies that claim, saying in a statement that Panini’s lawsuit is a “baseless last-gasp, flailing effort by a company that has lost touch with its consumers, is failing in the marketplace and has tried unsuccessfully for years to sell itself.”
Fanatics, represented by lawyers from Latham & Watkins, also said “Panini’s meritless allegations won’t distract us or slow us down, and we will vigorously defend the lawsuit.”
Upper Deck is now on the receiving end of Fanatics seemingly unstoppable ability to attract clients from other competing firms. Having already signed up the NBA, Fanatics has now signed up its most valuable player, a huge blow to Upper Deck, as cards from LeBron James have attracted purchases for literally millions of dollars.
Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin Auctions and star of Netflix’s “King of Collectibles” series said he sold a high-grade James card for as high as $5 million at the beginning of James’ career.
When James signed his first contract with Upper Deck in 2003, it was believed to be the largest in trading card and memorabilia history. James was reportedly paid $1 million per year and also received a $1 million signing bonus.
“Upper Deck has had the privilege of working closely with LeBron James over the last 20 years, building the LeBron James brand into one of the most valuable collectible brands in the world,” the company said in a statement.