Fanatics has continued their free spending ways by acquiring PWCC Marketplace, a renowned auction house specializing in sports cards, memorabilia, and collectibles. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
PWCC is also known amongst the collecting community for their PWCC Vault, a storage facility in Oregon that safeguards some of the world’s rarest and most valuable sports cards and collectibles.
This deal follows Fanatics’ purchase of Topps’ trading card and collectibles division in January 2022, which was estimated to be worth roughly $500 million. The acquisition of Topps came shortly after Fanatics secured major deals with the three major American sports leagues to produce sports cards. While Panini currently holds agreements with the NBPA and NFLPA for card production until 2025 and 2026 respectively, Fanatics has secured deals that will commence once these agreements expire, including a 20-year deal with the NFLPA. However, the NFL has yet to finalize a deal with Fanatics.
Just over a week ago, Fanatics also acquired the U.S. operations of PointBets for $150 million, a move that coincided with Fanatics’ foray into sports betting and digital casino operations. They’ve also recently closed deals with Epi (an Italian sports merchandise company), Mitchell & Ness, Steiner Sports and more.
In short, Fanatics isn’t merely just dipping a toe into the collectibles market, but rather diving in head first. By securing licenses to some of the world’s top leagues, acquiring a platform to sell cards on the secondary market, and partnering with some of the industry’s top influencers and breakers, Fanatics is banking on sports collectibles once again reaching their pandemic level highs with the heft of their marketing department behind the product.
The global sports memorabilia market, including trading cards, was valued at over $26 billion in 2021, and it is projected to surpass $220 billion by 2032. Fanatics, valued at $31 billion in December and with an estimated revenue of $8 billion in 2023, is poised to become a dominant player in the industry, with an extensive footprint and significant growth potential in the coming years.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Amy Ellis. Fanatics media package.