Federal judge dismisses class action lawsuit against Fanatics over card prices
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A lawsuit filed by Fanatics, the NFL, the NBA, MLB, their various players’ associations and OneTeam, which acts as a marketing vehicle for the players’ associations, was dismissed by a New York federal judge on all counts Monday.
The court granted Fanatics’ request to dismiss the lawsuit, which involves five plaintiffs – Robert Scaturo, Scott Bubnick, Joseph Davidov, Steven Mardakhaev and Jonathan Madar.
The lawsuit accused the group of conspiring to dominate the ever-expanding trading card market for each of the sports leagues in question, increasing the price of the cards to millions of consumers around the world.
It also heavily followed the antitrust lawsuit of Panini, the Fanatics’ trading card and memorabilia competitor, citing parts of it throughout.
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People sort through baseball cards for sale during the 45th National Sports Collectors Convention at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., July 31, 2025. (Audrey Richardson for The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Chief US District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled that “none of the plaintiffs sufficiently alleged that they overpaid or will overpay for the trading cards sold by the defendants.”
“We said from the start that this was a baseless and flawed case as Fanatics was accused of raising the prices on cards we didn’t even issue,” a Fanatics spokesperson told Fox Business after Monday’s decision. “The court agreed and decided that the plaintiffs do not even have a chance to sue. We are happy that the court has decided that the appeal is lacking in law and dismissed it.”
FANATICS SUE PANINI AMERICA AFTER ANTI-TRUST LAW IN LATEST GAME IN TRADING CARD INDUSTRY
In its decision, the court also noted that, at the time of the March 2025 lawsuit, Panini held the licenses for NFL and NBA trading cards. Topps, which was acquired by Fanatics in 2022 for a reported $500 million, was supposed to produce NBA-licensed trading cards until October 2025. Additionally, the NFL license for trading cards will not transfer to Topps until April of this year.
“Not only did no named Plaintiff purchase such a trading card from Defendants prior to the filing of the FAC, but it was virtually impossible for any purchaser to do so,” Taylor Swain wrote in the court’s decision.
Tom Brady attends Fanatics and Topps’ Hobby Rip Night with Michael Rubin, Tom Brady, Kevin Hart and Travis Scott September 30, 2023, in Linwood, NJ (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images/Getty)
As for the price gouging argument regarding MLB cards, the court found that the plaintiffs failed “to explain whether the price difference was traceable to external factors, such as manufacturing costs or quality differences, or whether the difference was traceable to the anti-competitive conduct of the Defendants.” Plaintiffs provided a chart comparing the prices of Topps’ licensed cards and Panini’s unlicensed products.
The plaintiff’s attorney, John Radice, told The Athletic that his clients are “examining the dismissal without prejudice and considering all options.”
Although the class action lawsuit was dismissed, Panini is still fighting its own lawsuit against Fanatics, accusing it of anti-competitive behavior and monopolization of the sports card industry. This happened after Fanatics acquired exclusive licensing rights to the NBA and NFL, which were previously owned by Panini. After April 2026, Fanatics will have exclusive licenses for the NBA, NFL, MLB, Premier League, F1 and WWE.
Bryce Miller, 10, holds a stack of sports cards he acquired at the Panini Group booth during the 45th National Sports Collectors Convention at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., July 31, 2025. (Audrey Richardson for The Washington Post/Getty Images)
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Panini’s fans have denied Panini’s claims and filed a counter-suit alleging that its rival began “a protracted, illegal, and deceptive campaign of unfair trade practices, strong tactics, and misconduct” in an attempt to force Fanatics to pay Panini a large sum of money to terminate its licenses in 2022.
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