Football Fanatics, which later became Fanatics, Inc., was founded by brothers Alan and Mitchell Trager in
Jacksonville, Florida. They initially started with a brick-and-mortar store in Orange Park Mall in 1995, focusing on local team merchandise, particularly
Jacksonville Jaguars apparel. The company later expanded into e-commerce and was eventually acquired by
Michael Rubin's GSI Commerce, which later became Fanatics, Inc. In 1998, Rubin created an apparel and logistics company, Global Sports Incorporated, which would later turn into
GSI Commerce, a multibillion-dollar
e-commerce company. Rubin sold GSI to eBay in 2011 for $2.4 billion and bought back the sports e-commerce business, which included online stores for all North American sports leagues along with hundreds of teams and colleges, keeping the name Fanatics, Inc. for the new company moving forward.
Expansion In April 2012, Fanatics raised $150 million from
Insight Venture Partners and
Andreessen Horowitz and acquired its Florida-based rival Dreams, Inc. for $158 million in cash and $25 million in debt. This move added the brands FansEdge and Mounted Memories, which were rebranded as the Fanatics Authentic division. Rubin's vision was to differentiate Fanatics by serving the real-time expectations of global sports fans and partners. Mack helped Fanatics move from a domestic e-commerce business to a mobile-first,
direct-to-consumer brand with its own manufacturing capabilities. Priorities such as real-time manufacturing, data, and technology, would guide the company's
vertical commerce (v-commerce) model. In 2015, Fanatics raised $300 million from
Silver Lake Partners. In early 2016, the company acquired UK-based internet retailer Kitbag to accelerate focus around international expansion and global soccer. In April 2017, Fanatics bought sportswear and merchandise manufacturer and MLB uniform provider
Majestic Athletic from
VF Corporation in an effort to add to the company's growing vertical manufacturing capabilities.
Nike Inc. would eventually take over as MLB's official on-field uniform partner, with Fanatics using the existing facilities acquired during the Majestic acquisition to make Nike MLB uniforms. In September 2017, Fanatics closed a $1 billion round of fundraising led by
Softbank, with participation from the
NFL,
MLB,
NHL,
MLS and NFLPA. Fanatics was expected to produce $2.2 billion in annual revenue that year. The next month, Fanatics acquired Fermata Partners to transform the college licensed sports business and a new Fanatics College division was formed. In the following two years, Fanatics announced 10-year deals with
Nike, the
National Football League and
Major League Baseball that granted Fanatics the rights to design, manufacture and distribute all Nike fan gear sold at retail for both leagues. At the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, Fanatics and MLB halted production of MLB jerseys to manufacture masks and gowns for emergency personnel battling COVID-19. Using the exact same material that was previously used to make Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and all other MLB jerseys, that fabric was instead used to make more than one million masks and gowns that were eventually shipped to more than a dozen states. In April 2020, Michael Rubin—with the help of Fanatics employees around the world—launched the ALL IN Challenge, one of the largest digital fundraisers in history. Also in 2020, Fanatics established the All-In Challenge Foundation, which would continue to serve as the philanthropic arm of the company. In August 2020, the company secured $350 million Series E funding raising Fanatics' valuation to $6.2 billion. Using the new funds, Fanatics purchased assets from Vetta Brands, including leading collegiate headwear producer Top of the World. This acquisition saved more than 200 jobs and added significant headwear scale and capabilities. In December 2020, Fanatics acquired WinCraft, a licensed hard goods and promotional products company, which increased the company's presence with non-apparel merchandise.
Global sports platform (2021–present) In March 2021, Fanatics secured a $320 million funding round, followed by another $325 million in August 2021 that brought the company's valuation to $18 billion as of September 2021. During the latter round, the company announced plans to expand into new business verticals, described by sources as a "global digital sports platform." Reported potential areas of expansion included NFTs, trading cards, sports betting and gaming, ticketing, and media. Following these developments, Michael Rubin assumed the role of CEO of the broader Fanatics portfolio. In May 2021, Rubin co-founded the digital collectibles company Candy Digital with Mike Novogratz and Gary Vaynerchuk. Candy Digital secured an exclusive, long-term agreement with MLB as its first content partner. Later that year, Candy Digital secured a $100 million financing round, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. The round included Insight Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund2, NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, Connect Ventures and Will Ventures. In January 2022, Fanatics divested its 60% stake in Candy Digital. In August 2021, Fanatics secured long-term
trading cards manufacturing and distribution rights from
MLB, MLBPA,
NBA, NBPA, and
NFLPA. A month later, Fanatics Collectibles, the company's trading cards and collectibles division, raised $350 million in a Series A round, giving the company a $10.4 billion valuation. In December 2021, Fanatics acquired
Topps, a licensed trading card company founded in 1983. As part of the acquisition, approximately 350 Topps employees joined Fanatics Collectibles. In February 2022, Fanatics acquired lifestyle and streetwear brand
Mitchell & Ness from Juggernaut Capital Partners. Mitchell & Ness operates as a separate brand within the Fanatics Commerce division. In April 2022, Fanatics announced a $1.5 billion fundraising round, followed by another $700 million in December 2022, which was reported to value the company at $31 billion. During the December round, Rubin announced plans to launch a third vertical, Fanatics Betting & Gaming, in 2023. In May 2023, Fanatics bid to acquire PointsBet's U.S. business for $150 million, representing Fanatics' first entry into the U.S. sports betting market. Fanatics made international acquisitions for its Commerce division, including Italian sports merchandise company Epi in April 2023, and Latin American sports wholesaler Fex Pro in June 2023. Also in June 2023, Fanatics increased its offer to $225 million following a competing $195 million bid from
DraftKings. The first wave of the deal closed in August 2023 in eight U.S. states and started the brand transition from PointsBet to Fanatics Sportsbook. In October 2023, Fanatics sold
Bazooka Candy Brands and its product portfolio, which was part of Topps, to
Apax Partners. In August 2025, Fanatics ONE, the company's first loyalty program, was launched, offering rewards and experiences to fans across the company's divisions in fan apparel, trading cards and collectibles, online sports betting and casino rewards, and access to events. Also in August 2025, Fanatics Advertising, the company’s advertising division, was launched. Jeremi Gorman was appointed as the chief revenue officer of the division. The division oversees brand partnerships across Fanatics’ business units. It also introduced the Fanatics Advertising Network (FAN) and Sports Video Network (SVN), which provide digital-video and connected-TV advertising alongside sports content. In December 2025, Fanatics announced the launch of Fanatics Markets, its prediction market, in 24 states. In January 2026, Fanatics announced the launch of Fanatics Studios, its entertainment and content-production division in partnership with OBB Media. == Divisions and brands ==