NEW YORK, NY – July 15, 2025 – DiCello Levitt today announced the filing of a sweeping federal class action lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on behalf of plaintiff Phillip Jones and all similarly situated consumers nationwide, challenging an alleged anticompetitive scheme by Fanatics, Inc. and major U.S. professional sports leagues and their players associations. The complaint alleges that Fanatics, together with Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), their respective players associations, and OneTeam Partners, a licensor of athletes’ names, images and likenesses, orchestrated a conspiracy in the market for newly-issued, licensed professional sports trading cards, which would result in a monopoly for such trading cards, resulting in inflated prices and reduced consumer choice.
According to the complaint, Fanatics secured unprecedented, decades-long exclusive licenses from six major professional sports licensors—MLB, MLBPA, NBA, NBAPA, NFL, and NFLPA—by offering equity stakes in its future monopoly profits. These “back room” deals, made without public bidding, eliminated competition and gave Fanatics control over the entire market for MLB, NFL, and NBA trading cards. Fanatics then acquired Topps, the dominant MLB card producer, and a controlling stake in GCP Packaging, the primary manufacturer for its only remaining competitor, Panini America, and restricted its production to choke off Panini’s supply, further cementing Fanatics’ market dominance.
The lawsuit details how Fanatics leveraged its monopoly power to coerce distributors, retailers, and local trading card shops into accepting higher prices and restrictive terms, while also raiding Panini for employees and pressuring star athletes to sign exclusive autograph deals. As a result, consumers have faced record-high prices, diminished product quality, and fewer choices at both mass-market and specialty retailers.
“Fanatics’ conduct has fundamentally altered the competitive landscape of the trading card industry, locking out rivals and leaving collectors and fans with no real alternatives,” said Gregory S. Asciolla, partner at DiCello Levitt and Chair of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Litigation Practice. Partner Jonathan Crevier emphasized, “This case is about restoring competition, protecting consumers and fans, and ensuring that the marketplace for sports trading cards remains open and fair.”
The complaint asserts violations of federal and state antitrust laws, including monopolization, attempted monopolization, and unreasonable restraint of trade under the Sherman Act, as well as state law claims for unfair and deceptive trade practices and unjust enrichment. The lawsuit seeks class certification, injunctive relief to end the anticompetitive conduct, actual and treble damages, disgorgement of ill-gotten profits, and restitution for affected consumers.
Plaintiff Phillip Jones, a Phoenix, Arizona resident, represents a class of individuals and entities nationwide who purchased newly-issued, fully-licensed MLB, NFL, or NBA trading cards produced by Fanatics from January 1, 2022, onward. The complaint alleges that these consumers paid artificially inflated prices as a direct result of Fanatics’ and its co-conspirators’ unlawful conduct.
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