So how do you bring in a new generation that’s largely averse to your product? Bal points to the NCAA’s name, image and likeness (NIL) rights that put Bronny James on a card with his dad and his USC jersey. NIL deals have not only given companies like Fanatics increased access to college players, but they provide access to some of the most popular athletes in women’s sports.
“Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, all the big names within women’s NCAA basketball are staying longer because they can financially benefit from it,” Bal said. “If I can get the people who are in college at the same time as these athletes to stay with me … I think you increase the likelihood that the association of the brand Fanatics is with the future of sports.”
Completing the set
Fanatics and Topps can hold die-hard baseball fans’ interest by having 2023 Topps Series One cover star Julio Rodríguez hand off the 2024 cover to Ronald Acuña Jr. They can post videos of picks, breaks and other events that will keep collectors overjoyed.
But to reach audiences beyond a core Turner identified as broadly male and aged 35 to 54, Fanatics has been expanding the boundaries of trading card relevance. While their Topps truck has been a fixture at Major League Baseball games and All-Star week—doling out free cards and giving fans a chance to make their own—more recently it’s parked at the Little League Softball World Series in Greenville, N.C., where it followed Athletes Unlimited professional softball players who were featured on their own set of Topps cards last year.
Topps loaded this year’s BowmanU Chrome Basketball set with cards featuring Reese, Stanford star forward Cameron Brink, University of Connecticut point guard Paige Bueckers and others. Clark not only has multiple cards of her own, but a special edition card released after she broke the NCAA women’s scoring record sold out in days.
