By Mark Seavy

As trading card licensing agreements for U.S. professional sports leagues shift to Fanatics over the next several years, companies affected by the change are expanding into new IPs. 

This growing focus on non-sports brands was underway well before Fanatics landed new deals with Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and their respective players unions in 2022. In fact, companies like Panini, Upper Deck, and Leaf Trading Cards have long had agreements with the likes of Marvel, DC Comics, and other entertainment properties. 

But the move by so many professional sports leagues, many of which are also investors in Fanatics, to sign new agreements with the sports licensing giant caught the trading card industry by surprise. It also spurred Panini to file an anti-trust suit against Fanatics in August 2023, a legal action that Fanatics dismissed in a court filing as “not only legally baseless, but also hypocritical.” 

Now, with their sports league licensing agreements expiring through 2027, several trading card companies are looking to other professional sports leagues and non-sports properties to offset any potential lost revenue. 

Upper Deck, for example, recently signed an agreement with free-to-play virtual pet website Neopets for trading cards that are expected to launch later this year. It also extended its pact with Warner Bros. Discovery for trading cards, memorabilia, and gaming items featuring to DC Comic book characters. Additionally, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander partnered with Upper Deck for autographed jerseys, basketballs, and prints, joining a roster that also includes Argentina’s and Miami FC’s Lionel Messi and Manchester City’s Alex Alcalá.  

Panini, on the other hand, still retains licensing rights for the NBA and NFL and is launching a hobby box for the latter featuring 10 packs with four cards each drawn from a roster of 90 rookies. It also relies heavily on soccer memorabilia and sticker collections for the U.K.’s Premier League as well as FIFA. It is expected to expand use of the Score and Donruss trading card labels that it acquired in buying Pinnacle Brands in 2009. Panini also has existing agreements with NASCAR and the MotoGP motorcycle grand prix, though Fanatics’ Topps Division has edged into the automotive trading card business under licensing agreements with Formula 1 and 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

“Many of the sports are already tied up at this point and if the companies want to stay in trading cards, they are going to have to find other ways [to make up for any lost revenue],” said former Topps executive Ira Friedman, who now heads Ira Friedman Enterprises and its Craniacs trading cards, which will go on sale on August 19. “They can’t be solely reliant on big sports anymore.”  

Indeed, Craniacs may be a sign of another path forward for trading cards. The cards, painted by Garbage Pail Kids artist Joe Simko, feature skull-faced characters that live in a world of two disparate civilizations—one from the future and one from ancient times. 

Friedman launched a test last October with GTS Distribution in less than 100 hobby stores and has since signed on six other distributors, including Diamond Comics Distributor. The Craniacs cards will be sold directly to consumers through Toynk.com and Dave and Adam’s Card World. Retailer FYE also will be carrying the range, with the cards packaged in a hobby box containing 24 packs with seven cards each. Friedman also signed a development agreement for Craniacs with animation studio Titmouse.  

The strategy—character-focused trading cards that tie into content or other entertainment offerings—will likely be one adopted by a number of companies looking to expand beyond sports in an effort to offset lost revenue, reach new demographics, and corner the trading card market in an area not yet dominated by one of the indust