Panini Alleges Fanatics Stole Confidential Deal Data to Win NBA, NFL Card Licenses

Panini accused Fanatics of obtaining and misusing its confidential licensing information to secure exclusive trading card deals worth billions from the NBA, NFL, and their respective players unions, according to allegations filed in court this week and unsealed after Fanatics attempted to keep them secret.

The allegations mark an escalation in the three-year-old antitrust lawsuit Panini filed against Fanatics in 2023. Panini now contends that its rival did not simply outbid or outperform it, but acquired what Panini describes as the precise mechanics of its own deals: royalty rates, minimum guarantee schedules, marketing commitments, and autograph spend obligations under Panini's licenses, per Front Office Sports' reporting.

Fanatics holds card licenses of between 10 and 20 years for MLB, NBA, NFL, and the three unions of those sports, many of which were previously Panini's exclusive rights. Panini alleges that Fanatics acquired these long-term exclusives through the use of Panini's confidential information in violation of confidentiality provisions in those licenses, according to the court filing as reported.

The allegations also target OneTeam Partners, the marketing and licensing venture of several sports unions, as being involved in negotiations of Fanatics' license with NBA players. However, OneTeam Partners denied the characterization, stating via Front Office Sports that it is not a defendant in the Panini litigation and was never a party to the NBPA-Fanatics agreement. OneTeam added that Panini's allegations are wrong.

Fanatics responded to the filing by arguing that after three years of litigation and hundreds of thousands of pages of discovery, Panini has been unable to find facts to support its allegations. Fanatics Collectibles stated, per Front Office Sports, that Panini is trying to delay the case by attacking its former licensing partners because they chose a better, more innovative model with Fanatics.

In June, Fanatics moved to seal the new allegations, but a magistrate judge ordered the secrecy restriction lifted earlier this week, making the claims public. The lawsuit is deep into the discovery phase, and on the current path, the case is likely to go to trial sometime next year, though Panini must first get past Fanatics' likely summary judgment motion. Settlement remains a possibility.

One unresolved detail: the court filings do not specify how Fanatics allegedly obtained Panini's confidential information, leaving the mechanism of the alleged breach unclear from public documents.