Fanatics strikes again.

Michael Rubin’s $31 billion sports memorabilia behemoth has earned another key victory in its battle with longtime trading card company Panini.

Fanatics is set to start its WWE trading card licensing deal several years early — immediately taking over the rights held by Panini until now. WWE — which already had an apparel deal with Fanatics — has reportedly ended its Panini deal, which was set to expire in 2026, due to breach of contract. Specific details are unclear.

It’s the second time in as many months that Fanatics has undercut Panini and convinced a partner to start a deal early. In August, the NFLPA opted to immediately begin its 20-year trading card partnership with Fanatics, also set to start in 2026.

Before the NFLPA situation, Panini had filed an antitrust suit against Fanatics claiming the company violated federal law with its dominant entry into the trading card business.

Fanatics Not Slowing Down

Since acquiring Topps in 2022, Fanatics has been on a laser-focused mission to control the sports collectibles space.

It also has trading card deals with the NBA and MLB and those leagues’ players associations, and is set to take over the league-wide NFL rights in 2026. And that’s on top of the company’s apparel deals with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS, among others.

Fanatics is also becoming a player in sports betting, recently acquiring the U.S. operations of PointsBet for $225 million.

The Kansas City Royals acknowledged that they will miss their intended late-September target to name the site of their proposed $2 billion new stadium, throwing an early wrench into the facility development’s plans.

Less than a month after unveiling the two candidate sites for the proposed project, the Royals have quickly walked back from an intended plan to disclose the final choice by the end of the month.

The key sticking point is finalizing a lease extension with Missouri’s Jackson County, where the Royals’ current home, Kauffman Stadium, is located. The county is insisting on a finalized lease extension with the Royals before introducing a ballot question that would extend its stadium sales tax levy and help fund a new venue. 

The Royals still plan to put a funding measure on local ballots in April 2024, with a goal of opening the new stadium in 2028.

The club is deciding between a 27-acre site in downtown Kansas City, in Jackson County, and a larger 90-acre tract in neighboring Clay County. In either instance, the Royals would seek an Atlanta Braves-type mixed-use development — but part of the decision also rests on the location of the urban site versus the more expansive possibilities of the suburban site. 

“Leaders in both counties know a critical piece of the evaluation process will be negotiated lease terms so that the Royals, our future partner, and most importantly the voters can know what to expect,” the Royals said. “We take our responsibilities very seriously to act in the best interests of both the Royals and our region, and we will continue our work to make sure this project is done right.”

The decision — which doesn’t have a new projected timetable — will also have ripple effects on the neighboring Kansas City Chiefs.

Currently one of MLB’s worst-attended, lowest-spending, and poorest-performing clubs, the Royals are eyeing the new stadium development as a key mechanism to improve its fortunes both on and off the field. 

Amazon’s hopes for NFL dominance are high after record-breaking viewership for last week’s 2023 season debut of “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video. 

Thursday’s streaming broadcast of the New York Giants at the San Francisco 49ers will look to retain the 15 million viewers who watched Philadelphia Eagles’ 34-28 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 — officially the most-streamed NFL game ever.

The task won’t be easy. The first “TNF” game of 2022 — a Kansas City Chiefs win against the Los Angeles Chargers — drew a season-high 13 million viewers before audience numbers began dropping in later weeks. Amazon finished with an average of 9.6 million viewers per game.

Staying above the 10 million average viewership mark this season would be a win for Amazon, which is paying $1 billion a year for the NFL deal and wants to add more live sports to its streaming offerings.

The tech giant had been hoping audience measurement company Nielsen would incorporate its first-party streaming data this year — but Nielsen ultimately opted against doing so. With that data, Amazon says Eagles-Vikings drew 16.6 million viewers.

Will Amazon Flex Its Muscles?

In its second year of exclusive NFL rights, Amazon has gained new scheduling flexibility previously unavailable for Thursday night games.

This season, the NFL can opt to switch up a “TNF” matchup between Weeks 13-17 with a four-week notice. That could be put to use this year in the wake of New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending injury.

The Jets are scheduled to visit the Cleveland Browns for the final Thursday night game of the season in Week 17. Games in the 1 p.m. ET window that week that could have stronger playoff implications include New England-Buffalo, New Orleans-Tampa Bay, and Miami-Baltimore.

The outlook for pro sports in Oakland has seemed bleaker than any other American city for a while now.

The dire state of the Oakland Coliseum has pushed the A’s to join the Raiders in fleeing the Bay Area in favor of Las Vegas, while the Golden State Warriors are now thriving in San Francisco after ditching their Oakland arena in 2019.

However, one pro sport is finally gaining momentum in the city. The Oakland Roots soccer club, which currently competes at the top level of the USL, has taken a key step toward building a soccer-specific stadium.

The team will enter an exclusive negotiating agreement with the city and Alameda County that could result in a new 10,000-seat stadium on nearly 9 acres of parking lot property near the Coliseum. The stadium is targeted to open in 2025 and would also host the Oakland Soul — the Roots’ women’s club that plays in the USL W League.

Financial details are unknown, but the Roots recently raised more than $2 million from a crowdfunding campaign offering fans equity in the team.

Future MLS Rival?

A new Oakland soccer stadium would also be a positive sign for the USL as the league seeks first-division status from U.S. Soccer, aiming to rivaling MLS with potential European-style promotion and relegation.

There is no MLS team in Oakland or San Francisco — the league’s San Jose Earthquakes represent the league’s only footprint near the Bay Area. NWSL expansion team Bay FC will play at the Earthquakes’ PayPal Park in its inaugural 2024 season.