Fanatics started as a jersey retailer. Now it's launching a credit card.
The company that owns Topps trading cards, runs a sportsbook, and reaches 100 million sports fans is turning loyalty into a financial product.
The card launches on the American Express network in the U.S. later this year, with spending earning FanCash - the digital reward currency fans can swap for apparel, tickets, trading cards, and other experiences.
The card sits on top of Fanatics ONE, the company's loyalty program that already has more than 30 million users. Cardholders get extra benefits and higher tier status inside the program.
The program is also the engine behind FanCash, with Fanatics expecting to issue more than $1 billion of it this year and about 97% set to be redeemed by fans, according to chief strategy and growth officer Tucker Kain.
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Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin said the company is on track to approach $14 billion in revenue this year, up from about $8 billion in 2024.
The growth isn't just from jerseys and hats anymore. The collectibles business, built around the 2022 Topps acquisition, is on track for about $5 billion in revenue this year, with new NFL, NBA, and FIFA deals feeding the run.
Fanatics also runs a sportsbook and launched prediction markets last year. The credit card ties all of those businesses together, since spending across any of them earns the same FanCash.
For Amex, the bet is on overlap. Nearly 80% of its U.S. cardholders say they're sports fans, according to chief marketing officer Elizabeth Rutledge, and that's the audience Amex wants to lock in.
The partnership extends well beyond the card, with Amex becoming the official payments partner at select Fanatics retail and online locations globally and a presenting sponsor of Fanatics Fest - the company's annual fan festival in New York.
Amex now has partnerships with more than 50 leagues, teams, venues, and events, and it recently replaced Visa as the NFL's official payments partner.
Amex membership rewards will also be convertible into FanCash, which is unusual for a co-branded card that Amex doesn't issue directly.
The catch: the Fanatics card runs on the Amex network but isn't issued by Amex.
First Electronic Bank issues it and Imprint manages it, which is different from co-branded cards like Delta and Marriott that Amex handles directly.
Sports fans are getting a credit card. Amex is getting access to 100 million of them.
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