Panini's Unsealed Court Filing Accuses Fanatics of Using Its Confidential License Data
Newly unsealed allegations in Panini's antitrust suit claim Fanatics obtained Panini's royalty rates, guarantee schedules, and spend obligations before winning the NBA and NFL card licenses. Fanatics calls the claims baseless.
The Sealed Allegations Are Now Public
The three-year legal war between Panini and Fanatics just produced its most explosive chapter yet. Newly unsealed portions of Panini's amended antitrust complaint allege that Fanatics used Panini's own confidential information to win the exclusive NBA and NFL trading card licenses that reshaped the entire industry.
Fanatics had moved in June to keep the two new allegations under seal, but a magistrate judge ordered the secrecy restriction lifted, and the details became public in mid-August.
What Panini Claims
According to the amended complaint, Fanatics obtained granular details of Panini's existing license deals, including:
- The precise royalty rates Panini was paying leagues and players associations
- Panini's minimum guarantee schedules
- Contractual marketing commitments
- Autograph spend obligations under Panini's licenses
Panini contends that Fanatics "acquired its long-term exclusives through the use of Panini's confidential information," allegedly using that inside knowledge to structure winning bids for exclusive rights with the NBA, NBPA, NFL, and NFLPA.
Fanatics Fires Back
"After three years of litigation and hundreds of thousands of pages of discovery, Panini has been unable to find facts to support its baseless allegations - and its proposed amended complaint makes that painfully clear."
That is Fanatics' official response, and it captures how entrenched both sides are. The suit dates back to 2023, when Panini filed antitrust claims and Fanatics countersued, and it has ground through discovery ever since.
Why Collectors Should Care
This is not just corporate drama. The Fanatics takeover of the NFL and NBA licenses is the defining structural change in the modern hobby, and this lawsuit is the last major challenge to how that takeover happened. Meanwhile, Panini itself is exploring a sale at a reported 3 to 4 billion euro valuation, sealed Panini NFL product has climbed 20 to 40 percent since the license switch, and Panini's final licensed products are becoming de facto collectibles of a closing era.
If a court ever found that the licenses were won improperly, the remedies could ripple through everything from product exclusivity to pricing. More likely, the case continues to shape settlement leverage as Panini shops itself to potential buyers. Either way, the outcome will influence what products land on your local shop's shelves for the next decade.
Stay close to the hobby while the giants fight it out. Use The Card Shop Finder to find local shops where the cards, not the courtrooms, are the point.