Cards
Fanatics Fest a big hit during World Cup, summer of champions in NYC
Smoke from Canadian wildfires that impacted air quality and even heavy rain couldn’t stop legions of collectors from attending “the Comic-Con of sports.”
Fanatics Fest returned to New York for four days of fun and collecting under one roof, bringing together an estimated 200,000 sports fans and hundreds of athletes during one of the busiest stretches of the collecting calendar.
Held at the Jacob Javits Center on Manhattan’s West Side, the third edition of Fanatics Fest has evolved from a collectibles convention into the biggest celebration of sports culture in the world. This year’s event came at a unique moment, with the FIFA World Cup Final taking place at nearby MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the New York Knicks fresh off an historic NBA title and the card hobby enjoying another surge in popularity.
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The combination created an atmosphere unlike any previous Fanatics Fests, where attendees paid $240 for four-day passes and $70 for a single day. Once again, it was a chance for attendees to meet their favorite athletes, buy memorabilia and participate in interactive experiences.
FFNYC has become a regular feature of the summer sports collectibles calendar. It was held this year just two weeks before the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, which takes place every year during the last week of July.
For this edition, Fanatics added a fourth day and expanded the show’s footprint to one million square feet—25% more than last year—to include even more player autographs, meet-and-greets, photo-ops, live programming and panels—making the event as much about entertainment as collecting. In all, over 400 athletes and celebrities were in attendance inside the massive convention hall, which included Tom Brady, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, Kevin Durant, Victor Wembanyama, Alex Ovechkin, Jack Hughes, Aaron Judge and Novak Djokovic.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft praised Fanatics for bringing so many fans, collectors, sports leagues and brands together in one show.
“I’m amazed to come here and see, after three years, what this represents,” he said.
Novelties this year included a “Walk of Fame”—dedicated aisles where athletes could move about the showroom floor as fans snapped selfies and exchanged high-fives—and parked food trucks which gave attendees more food options.
WORLD CUP FEVER
Fanatics delayed this summer’s show by a month so that it could coincide with the World Cup Final on July 19, which was also the show’s final day. The World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, brought renewed attention to soccer collectibles. As a result, the World Cup gave Fanatics Fest an international flavor rarely seen at a North American sports memorabilia convention.
Among the attendees were soccer fans from around the globe who had combined World Cup travel with a stop at the festival. The final news conference ahead of the Spain-Argentina final featured an appearance by Messi, which drew hundreds of flag-waving fans along with Brady, Durant and Djokovic.
The event, which also featured Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, rapper Travis Scott and actor Kevin Hart, was unique in that pregame press conferences ahead of a World Cup final are never open to the public or feature A-listers. Instead of reporters asking the questions, it was the stars who did.
Brady asked Messi about a remarkable 2007 photo that recently went viral of the Argentine striker bathing a baby who grew up to be Spain star Lamine Yamal.
“What a crazy picture,” Messi said.
Even Spain’s players were star struck. Asked during the news conference about Messi, Spanish captain Rodri said, “It goes beyond words what he means as a player and what he means for Argentina. Obviously, for me, he’s the greatest of all time.”
Out on the showroom floor, the FIFA pavilion and soccer collectibles were among the hottest attractions. Signed jerseys and trading cards were all the rage as were the appearances of legends like David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Both Argentina and Spain fans—allowed free entry to the World Cup watch party by showing their passports—added a live sports dimension to this year’s FFNYC. FIFA also used the occasion to sell merchandise and promote next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
FIFA has also waded into the collectibles market by selling 2,026 championship rings—30 of which will go the winning players and coaches—and the reminder sold for $12,000 a piece. FIFA will also be selling pieces of turf from MetLife Stadium for $450.
At Heritage Auctions, the booth featured several notable soccer collectibles, highlighted by Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal ball scored against England at the 1986 World Cup. The ball, with a starting bid of $10 million, will go up for auction on Aug. 21. It is also the same ball that Maradona used when he scored the “Goal of the Century” in the same game.
Mike Provenzale, who oversees production of auctions and catalogs at Heritage Sports, said the ball “transcends the sport and it’s gone into folklore.”
The ball received a final bid of $2.04 million through Goldin in 2023, but didn’t sell because it failed to reach the reserve price.
CARDS & AUTOS
While celebrity appearances and interactive experiences attracted long lines, trading cards remained the show’s centerpiece. FFNYC featured 250 dealers selling hobby boxes for hundreds of dollars to five- and six-figure vintage and ultra-rare modern cards.
Former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who owns a stake in Arena Club Slab Packs, said he’s astonished at the popularity of cards in recent years.
“We used to collect the cards for the gum that was in the packs,” Jeter said. “I’m dating myself here.”
Jeter, who used to collect cards of his idol Dave Winfield as a child, said he understands why so many collectors are chasing Shohei Ohtani these days.
“He’s a unicorn,” Jeter said, referring to the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar as a one-of-a-kind talent.
The show had something for everyone, primarily trading cards, autographs and photo-ops with legends past and present. Some paid $1,000 just to have their photo taken with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson, fresh off helping the team win its first NBA title since 1973. The photo-op with Brunson sold out weeks before the show’s July 16 opening day.
“It was so worth it. Every penny, every cent,” said attendee Murielle Georges. “You only live once.”
The Topps booth was a popular destination for collectors throughout the show. Dallas Mavericks star Cooper Flagg, named this past season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, unveiled his 1/1 Rookie Debut Patch Autograph card. Flagg signed the card just minutes before revealing it by pulling back a black drape over a clear glass display case.
The card, which remained on display at Fanatics Fest throughout the weekend, will be featured alongside other rookies in 2026 Topps Chrome Update Basketball, which hits hobby shops and retail stores on Aug. 6.
“I was a little nervous. I’ve signed a lot of cards, but that one was a little nerve-racking,” Flagg admitted.
The card could fetch upwards of $5 million once it’s pulled. Asked if he planned to someday buy the card, Flagg joked, “Maybe eventually. I might have to wait until I get my second contract, but maybe eventually.”
Flagg’s biggest rookie card sale came this past March when his 2025-26 Topps Chrome Sapphire 1/1 Padparadscha Rookie Auto sold for a staggering $366,000.
“In high school, instead of taking my notes, I would sit there and practice my autograph for the entire class,” Flagg recalled. “I still have a notebook that went through all of the different iterations of my autograph.”
Other big names could also be seen perusing cases and buying cards, including “Late Night” host and “Saturday Night Live” alum Seth Myers, Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary of “Shark Tank” fame, “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis and MLB great Alex Rodriguez. The former New York Yankees star pulled a 2025-26 Topps Chrome Flagg rookie autograph card numbered to /75 while visiting CardVault By Tom Brady.
Fanatics Fest featured a Friday night Trade Night, co-sponsored by Topps and New Jersey-based Bodega Cards, which attracted large crowds of teens carrying Zion cases. The event also featured some star power. New York Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns, a card collector, made a series of trades, telling one young collector, “This is New York! You can keep that Wemby.”
Clemente Lisi
