Topps was blindsided Thursday as its longtime business partners—MLB and its baseball players' union—struck exclusive trading-card agreements with a new company controlled by Fanatics Inc. Here's how the industry-rattling deal unfolded.
For more than 70 years, Topps Co. handled every curveball that came its way in maintaining control of the baseball-card market by relying on its deep historical relationships with Major League Baseball and its players.
But with one industry-rattling deal this week, Topps has suddenly lost its grip on the business it long dominated—and on FridayA breakdown in the baseball relationships that were central to Topps’s longtime success was at the heart of the abrupt change of fortune. Topps on Thursday was blindsided as its longtime business partners—MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association—struck exclusive trading-card agreements with a new company controlled by online sports-merchandise retailer Fanatics Inc., people familiar with the matter said. The NBA and unions representing players in the National Basketball Association and the National Football League were also part of the deal that promises to dramatically shake up the industry.
The Fanatics talks had been underway for several months, according to people involved in them, yet Topps only learned of them on Thursday, when it received a letter from the MLBPA informing the company it wouldn’t be extending its contract with Topps. Topps CEO Michael Brandstaedter also got a call from an MLB executive informing him they would not be renewing their deal with Topps when it expired at the end of 2025.
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