The Just Collect Blog

Fanatics Buys Topps Sports Cards Company

Written by Monte Jennings | Jan 14, 2022 10:19:05 PM

When Fanatics purchased the trading card license for Major League Baseball, we were all in shock; Topps has held that license for years!  Printing baseball cards for 70 years was in jeopardy for Topps but a new deal has struck that will keep their iconic brand on baseball cards.

Over the Summer we were all shocked to learn that Fanatics had purchased the trading card license for Major League Baseball.  Since you were a kid, you've paired baseball cards with the Topps brand. Remember the days you would ride your bike to the gas station and pick up a wax pack of cards and that delicious (was it, really, though...) stick of gum for less than a buck?  Topps had the license through 2022 for players' images and 2025 for team logos.  Without the licenses, Topps could not put a picture of say a Mike Trout or an Angles logo on their cards. Topps also had had big plans of taking their company public.  However, when Fanatics purchased the licenses, Topps' eventual inability to make licensed cards reversed that big plan. As collectors, you and I were worried what would happen to the iconic Topps brand - would we ever see another Topps card?  Turns out, YES!  

The CEO of Fanatics, Michael Rubin, made a promise that the Topps brand would remain in place. "We are proud to share that the iconic Topps brand will remain on all MLB cards, which we are making as of today." is what Rubin tweeted.  The CEO also appears to have jobs for all 350 current Topps employees, too! "And a special welcome to all 350 Topps associates into Fanatics whose passion and world-class expertise will take the trading card industry to the next level and enhance the experience for collectors, fans, hobby shops, and partners globally!! Let’s go!!"

We're excited that new cards with the Topps logo will still be printed and 350 hardworking employees still have jobs!

Rather than waiting to print baseball cards until 2025, Fanatics can start right now.  Does that mean we'll see the change with the 2022 Topps Series 1 brand?  We'll find out on February 16th, 2022 when Series 1 is released.  If you pick up a pack in February we hope you relive some of those fun memories from when you were a kid, filling out your checklists on graph paper and sliding your cards into those 9-pocket pages as you tried to get he whole set.  
 
What are your thoughts on the Fanatics Buying?  Post in the comments below!
 
 
We've been one of the largest buyers of vintage sports cards in the world, including Topps sets.  We recently purchased a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card that was discovered with jars of pickles!  That is a great read here. If you have an entire collection of Vintage Topps cards that you're interested, we'd love to hear from you!

 

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Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1979 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the

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We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!  

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