Fanatics just punted Topps in the face, and the cut throat industry continues.

[Savard18]

Well, obviously this doesn't technically effect or affect hockey (yet), but apparently the sports apparel company Fantatics just punted Topps in the face and stole their official MLB licensing and now for the first time in 70 years Topps will no longer be manufacturing sports cards in any of the 4 major North American sports..

Obviously I love the hobby, and it's an innocent hobby at that but the business side of the hobby is brutal - this is some real cutthroat stuff. And from my perspective it looks like both the MLB and the NFL conspired er colluded with each other to get Topps out of the game completely, at least under it's current ownership and format - it's real sinister stuff. Now allegedly both the MLB and NFL and their respective players associations will have ownership stakes in this new Fanatics trading card company and they will begin to produce cards progressively over the next couple of years and then phase out Topps entirely within 3 years. Now I don't know what Topps plans to do, nor am I entirely certain that Topps will just "go away", so I see some sort of merger happening here, or Topps just being bought out, they walk away and Fanatics takes over Topps branding and their plant assets (facilities) and the typical collector will hardly notice but none of that has been said our alluded to yet. Either way I find it hilarious how these businesses keep stabbing each other in the backs because they're all fighting over the exclusive right to print ink on a piece of cardboard.. Smh..

With that said, what does that mean for Upper Deck? I mean if the MLB and NFL are getting partnership in this endeavor - you better believe the NHL will want in too, so you can bet Upper Deck is having it's moment right about now and wondering if they're next on the chopping block.. I mean Upper Deck has to have some sort of a strategy moving forward, lol

This is like the Taco Bell "fast food franchise wars" eluded to in the movie "Demolition Man", lol.. Crazy stuff smh.

[subban7677]

Maybe Topps looks to the NHL. It's unlikely, but fun to think about.

[KingKuba]

We could see the biggest boom and bust ever.

[pwaldo]

This is bad and it is going to get U-G-L-Y in my opinion.

You saw the boom with the industry the past couple of months/years and now everyone is looking to grab a piece of it. This is just the first step to a total monopoly. If Fanatics (aren't they a clothing company?) gets the exclusive license to the MLB, NFL, and NBA it is only a matter of time before they gobble up everything else and become a monopoly. They will also eliminate all card shops and breakers and have the product on their site. They might not even sell in retail places like Target/Wal Mart since they have the ability to sell at their own retail locations.

Leaf and Sage look to also be cut off since it looks like the ability to make non licensed stuff has been removed too. Because if you had that Topps/Panini/UD could just make stuff.

So it seems like the industry is heading towards a one big super monopoly by a company that has no clue on how to run sports cards and supposedly the guy they are putting in charge is a sneaker collector who called the sports card industry dead a few years ago. So I don't see how anybody can be happy out this or see this as a positive. They shelled out a ton of money for the exclusive rights and it seems to me they think the industry is the same thing it was when everything was going for nutty prices in January-March when it has never been like that before or since.

[Savard18]

This is bad and it is going to get U-G-L-Y in my opinion.

You saw the boom with the industry the past couple of months/years and now everyone is looking to grab a piece of it. This is just the first step to a total monopoly. If Fanatics (aren't they a clothing company?) gets the exclusive license to the MLB, NFL, and NBA it is only a matter of time before they gobble up everything else and become a monopoly. They will also eliminate all card shops and breakers and have the product on their site. They might not even sell in retail places like Target/Wal Mart since they have the ability to sell at their own retail locations.

Leaf and Sage look to also be cut off since it looks like the ability to make non licensed stuff has been removed too. Because if you had that Topps/Panini/UD could just make stuff.

So it seems like the industry is heading towards a one big super monopoly by a company that has no clue on how to run sports cards and supposedly the guy they are putting in charge is a sneaker collector who called the sports card industry dead a few years ago. So I don't see how anybody can be happy out this or see this as a positive. They shelled out a ton of money for the exclusive rights and it seems to me they think the industry is the same thing it was when everything was going for nutty prices in January-March when it has never been like that before or since.

IMO, these card corporations are already violating anti-trust laws, ITG is still in the process of suing Upper Deck but if Fanatics (yes it's a sports apparel corporation) is gobbling up all these leagues then I really would expect serious legal challenges.. IMO they're all colluding and conspiring - it's nuts... I'm not a fan of any of this for numerous reasons but it appears Fanatics has really upped the ante and are now giving part ownership sake to the leagues and the player unions.. It's almost like Fanatics is playing the "middle man" and posing as a shell corporation so the leagues and player unions can dictate the card industry though them... I mean why bother licensing if you can just control the hobby as a whole?... One would think league and player union involvement would be a massive conflict of interest... So yea, this could get real interesting and I wouldn't expect this to go unchallenged ... I mean it's almost like Fanatics essentially paid Topps to just go away just like when large corporations buy the smaller competition just to absorb their physical assets then destroy or withhold their intellectual property/product... So yea this is going to be something to keep an eye on.

[ac4760]

Let's see now. There is a thread about advertising coming to hockey jerseys and now this, Fanatics, a sports apparel company is going into the card making business. Coincidence? Absolutely.

[Marcb105]

This is bad news for all regular people in the hobby, because fewer people will be having a say in how things are done moving forward.
While hockey isn't immediately affected, if Fanatics wants hockey, they can do to upper deck what they did to Topps.
This is just a brutal day, and I'm not one to overreact to this stuff.

[volkov956]

exclusive rights to any thing allowing monopolies well here it comes just took a bit.

[30ranfordfan]

They didn't "steal" anything. They made a better pitch - and like it or not, leagues only want to deal with one manufacture.

I read about this last night, and I was surprised. I figured the day was coming when one of Topps or Panini bought out Upper Deck... and then squeezed the other one out of the market.

Giving the players unions a stake in the company - in theory - will give the players more value in trading cards. It makes a lot of sense (especially when you consider that it was players who staked the company that bought out PSA.

I don't have much of an opinion on the other sports. I own a few baseball cards, a few football cards. Not sure I have any basketball cards left (I did have a few, for a time). I do know that Topps seems largely successful, so does Panini.

I hope fanatics isn't going to kill the golden goose. The who market has boomed over the last few years... and now it's going to be shaken right down at the core. If I were a big sports card investor - that would worry me, a lot.
@pwaldo - What did you read about blocking unlicensed stuff? I'm assuming this means that the respective PAs will ban their members from entering into trading card or autograph deals with anyone other than Fanatics..... leaving only unaffiliated prospects, or retired players, available to sign deals (and they could both be pressured not to).
@Savard18 - ITG isn't suing anyone. ITG hasn't been a company for years now. It's brands were all sold to Leaf (who is in a legal battle with Upper Deck).

Topps & Panini obviously can't be happy about this - but any uproar they cause about this being "unfair" will be laughable.... since they've done exactly the same thing to their competitors in the past. No judge is ever going to rule that Leagues or PAs need to sell licensing of their images & logos to multiple companies.

Panini is a massive global company - so they might just bide their time. I'm not sure what else Topps does outside of baseball cards and stickers - I think the point that Savard18 made could be a thing..... Topps gets bought by Fanatics. Maybe? Who knows.

We saw it in hockey when Panini had a license. It took a while for people to warm up to new products. National Treasures was better than The Cup by a country mile - but it was never as popular. If a new company comes in and guts the normal release schedule (i.e. all Topps products are gone, and all replaced by new products that nobody knows) - I have no idea what that will do to the industry.

[KingKuba]

What year does the NHL contract end with UD?

This will be the end of the LCS and hobby as we know it.
They are expecting at least 50 sets a year by fanatics with huge productions since they are paying 10x what Topps paid.