Fresh Off $12.8B Valuation, Fanatics Roster Grows

Sports retail powerhouse Fanatics is coming off a $12.8 billion valuation and doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

The 26-year-old retailer has been on fire for the past several months: 

• May: Signed Trevor Lawrence to an exclusive deal
• March: Raised $320 million in funding and began selling products on Amazon
• February: Announced Fanatics China, expected to be worth over $1 billion
• December: Acquired sports-themed merchandise retailer WinCraft
• September: Purchased collegiate headwear brand Top of the World
• August: Raised $350 million in a Series E round

With its global e-commerce operation up 30% year over year, Fanatics expects to eclipse $3 billion in sales this year. 

It operates sites for the NFL, MLB, NFL, NHL, PGA, MLS, UFC, and NASCAR, and has more than 300 total partners.

On Tuesday it added a 13th NBA team to its roster, the Phoenix Suns. With the Suns’ omnichannel retail partnership, Fanatics will oversee the team’s online, mobile, and venue shops.

The NFL and MLB invested $150 million in Fanatics in 2017, according to a CNBC report. In turn, each league received $100 million equity increases in their holdings in Fanatics in the 2020 raise.