Fanatics Acquires WWE Trading Card License
Fanatics and WWE have announced a wide-reaching licensing deal that includes e-commerce, NFTs and a variety of licensed goods — including trading cards. This means that Topps is only taking a break from wrestling cards.
The announcement comes a week before Panini is scheduled to release their first WWE product, 2022 Prizm. Panini’s new multi-year deal will still run its course before it moves to Fanatics.
Panini is taking over from Topps who had been making WWE cards since 2005. Topps just released their final sets under their previous deal, 2021 WWE Women’s Division and 2021 Finest WWE.
The announcement doesn’t say exactly when Panini’s deal expires and Topps WWE cards will come back, only that it’ll be “over the next few years.” Panini’s original announcement from last October stated their’s was a multi-year deal.
Besides physical trading cards, digital trading cards and NFTS, which Fanatics will make under their Candy brand, are also part of the deal. There’s no word as to whether this will mean the eventual return of the WWE SLAM digital trading card app.
Fanatics will also create a new online WWE Shop that has clothing and apparel, replica belts and other merchandise. The company will also be able to make on-demand collections that cater to WWE events and moments as they happen.
This is the latest move by Fanatics as they aggressively move into trading cards under Fanatics Collectibles. First came word of several future deals in baseball, basketball and football. These were all to kick in after current deals with Topps and Panini expired. Then, in January, Fanatics purchased Topps, allowing them to jump into baseball immediately.
