Topps, the trading card firm owned by global merchandising and e-commerce giant Fanatics, has announced a new exclusive long-term trading card deal with Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani, a two-time most-valuable-player award winner from North American baseball’s elite MLB, will now exclusively be featured on Topps trading cards.
Widely considered among the best players of baseball’s modern era, Ohtani will immediately collaborate with Topps on the release of new trading cards bearing his autograph, as well as game-used memorabilia.
The deal is global, covering Topps products in both the US - the world’s largest baseball market where Ohtani is contracted to play through 2034 - as well as in the all-rounder’s native Japan, another strong baseball market.
Topps first partnered Ohtani in 2018, his first year in MLB, although that was a non-exclusive deal, and the Japanese star has since signed multiple merchandising deals with Fanatics - although none that extended to trading card exclusivity.
David Leiner, president of trading cards at Fanatics’ collectibles division, has stated: “[Ohtani is the] best player in the game, unique, global player, who pitches and hits. You've got to have this guy in product, you've got to have his autographs and memorabilia for fans to chase."
Leiner added that demand in the Japanese market far outstrips supply, and as such Ohtani’s capture is a major needle mover for Fanatics, which entered the country in 2021 with a licensing deal for Japan’s domestic NPB baseball competition (from which Ohtani was produced).
The trading card company also has deals in place with other prominent Japanese baseball stars such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto (a teammate of Ohtani’s for the Dodgers and the Japanese national team), and legendary former players Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui.
As one of the most high-profile stars in baseball, whose move to the Dodgers inspired a slew of Japanese partnerships for the franchise, Ohtani stands among the most valuable individuals in US sports.
Fanatics has made a point of targeting such high-value sporting athletes since its acquisition of Topps’ sports division in January 2022 - in early 2024, for example, it agreed an exclusive partnership with basketball icon LeBron James.
