People who haven’t been to Fanatics Fest can’t really explain the energy that’s there. As they move from table to table, collectors hold cards up to a fluorescent light and talk quietly about printed cardboard pieces that can sell for more than a used car. From the outside, it doesn’t look like a billion-dollar business. But that’s exactly what it has turned into, and the NFL, led by Roger Goodell, wants a much bigger piece of it.
This month, Goodell went to Fanatics Fest in New York, and it wasn’t by accident that he was there. There have been more and more events where the commissioner can be seen that mix sports, entertainment, and consumer culture. The league used to think of trading cards as a nostalgic item for old fans and niche hobbyists, but now they see them as real business infrastructure. One important thing to think about is whether this change is based on strategic vision or just the NFL following money that was already moving.
To be honest, it’s probably both. Collectors called the years during the pandemic a “boom” for the trading card market. Fans who were stuck inside with extra money flooded the hobby with demand that was higher than supply. Grading services got months behind, prices went through the roof, and all of a sudden, a Patrick Mahomes rookie card was a real investment topic. It was at its peak, but it didn’t fall apart. What it left behind were collectors who were better organized, older, and more serious about their money. This is exactly the type of person the NFL wants to attract.
The league’s partnerships with Fanatics and Panini, along with the impending switch to Fanatics as the sole trading card partner, have given the push real structural weight. Michael Rubin, who runs Fanatics, is one of the more interesting people changing how leagues make money off of fans. Plus, he sells more than just jerseys. He is thinking about a model for sports merchandise that is vertically integrated. In this model, a collector could buy a card, have it graded, sell it on a market, and then buy another card, all within the same ecosystem. Goodell really seems to believe in the direction that model is going.
What I’m getting from all of this is the impression that the NFL wants to move collectibles from the edges of fan culture to the center, just like it did with fantasy sports ten years ago. It wasn’t easy for fantasy football to grow. The league jumped on board, shared data, teamed up with platforms, and let the product become a part of how millions of people watched the game every week. Trading cards could go in a similar direction, especially since younger fans are “investing” in athletes in the same way that older fans might have followed a stock portfolio.
What’s still not clear is whether the card market can support the league’s big goals. People in collecting communities are often very passionate and protective. They remember the years when manufacturers flooded the market with too many sets and the sense of scarcity disappeared. Some people say that Goodell’s NFL doesn’t leave money on the table very often. This is both a strength and a risk in a hobby that depends on fake rarity.
But you can’t help but notice the drive. A league that already has regular-season games in London, Paris, Melbourne, and maybe even Tokyo soon is not one that is thinking small. Like the trading card push, the idea behind expansionism is to find areas of passion, build infrastructure around them, and let scale take care of the rest. The extent of this empire may depend on how much collectors feel like they are part of the project and not just interested in the things that are being collected.
