WWE And Fanatics Announce Longterm Partnership, Vince McMahon Comments
WWE and Fanatics have announced a new long-term partnership.
The first-of-its-kind deal will encompass many parts of Fanatics' expanded digital sports platform, and will see WWE create an amplified sports & entertainment experience for fans.
Fanatics will use its expanded digital sports platform to create the new, enhanced experience for WWE fans across several businesses, including e-commerce, licensed merchandise, and physical, digital, and NFT trading cards.
"Through the ground-breaking deal, WWE will benefit from many capabilities across the Fanatics platform to create more opportunities for its global fanbase to showcase their pride and passion for WWE, its marquee events, and star-studded roster," today's announcement noted.
WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon said they believe the new Fanatics partnership will set a new standard for WWE e-commerce, apparel and merchandise.
"Fanatics is the industry leader and [Fanatics CEO] Michael Rubin is a visionary," Vince said. "We believe this multi-platform partnership will set a new standard for WWE e-commerce, apparel and merchandise, while providing our fans globally with more ways than ever to engage with WWE and our Superstars."
Rubin added, "WWE is one of the most widely admired sports and entertainment properties worldwide, and it made perfect sense to activate many parts of our Fanatics global platform to create a first-of-its-kind, all-in fan experience. From e-commerce and licensed merchandise to trading cards and more, we're going to offer up an incredible set of capabilities to help WWE's passionate fans worldwide celebrate their favorite Superstars, marquee events and the WWE brand overall."
As a part of the deal, Fanatics will exclusively re-introduce WWE Shop this summer, as a new, rapid e-commerce and mobile destination, giving fans around the world access to a leading assortment of WWE merchandise across all categories, including apparel, hard goods such as belts and accessories, and more. Fanatics will work closely and collaboratively with the teams at WWE who have significantly grown this business in-house for decades, and the company will also add rights to design, manufacture and distribute real-time, on-demand merchandise collections to celebrate unpredictable WWE moments and new Superstars.
Fanatics Collectibles, the company's trading cards and collectibles division, will also become the exclusive provider of licensed WWE physical and digital trading cards, which will once again bear the nostalgic Topps logo. Fanatics acquired the legendary 70-year-old Topps brand earlier this year, which previously held a long-term relationship with WWE. That deal will commence when WWE's existing trading cards rights expire over the next few years.
The new deal will also see Fanatics' next generation digital collectibles company, Candy Digital, become one of WWE's primary NFT partners later this year. Candy's team of world-class digital artists, designers, and technologists will curate and build a full range of high-quality trading card NFTs featuring WWE's biggest moments and stars.
Stay tuned for more.