What Happened to The Topps Company, Inc.?

The Topps Company, Inc. began its journey in 1938 in Brooklyn, New York, initially as a chewing gum manufacturer. The Shorin brothers, the founders, aimed to create the 'tops' in chewing gum, hence the name. Their most successful early product was Bazooka bubble gum, often packaged with small comics. The company pivoted significantly in 1951, producing its first baseball cards, and by 1952, introduced the larger, now-iconic format that would define the modern baseball card industry. Topps quickly dominated the market by securing exclusive contracts with players, notably acquiring rival Bowman Gum's contracts by the mid-1950s.

Over decades, Topps expanded its trading card lines to include other sports like football, basketball, and hockey, as well as non-sports subjects like Star Wars and Garbage Pail Kids. In 2007, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner's investment firm, The Tornante Company, along with Madison Dearborn Partners, acquired Topps for $385 million, taking it private. Under this ownership, Topps continued to innovate, venturing into digital collectibles and NFTs.

A significant turning point occurred in April 2021 when Topps announced plans to go public through a SPAC merger with Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II, valuing the company at $1.3 billion. However, this deal dramatically collapsed in August 2021 after Major League Baseball (MLB) and the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) announced they would not renew their long-standing licensing agreement with Topps, instead partnering with Fanatics starting in 2026. This loss of the exclusive MLB license, a cornerstone of Topps' business, made the SPAC merger unviable.

In a surprising turn of events, Fanatics, the company that had secured the MLB license, acquired Topps' trading card and collectibles business in January 2022 for approximately $500 million. This acquisition allowed Fanatics to immediately begin producing MLB cards under the Topps brand, accelerating its original 2026 start date. The deal also brought Topps' existing licenses for other properties like UEFA, Bundesliga, Major League Soccer, and Formula 1 under the Fanatics Collectibles umbrella. Topps' candy business, including Bazooka, was not part of the acquisition and was later sold by Fanatics in October 2023.

As of March 2026, Topps operates as a key brand within Fanatics Collectibles. The brand has successfully reacquired exclusive NBA trading card rights, with licensed products returning in October 2025 after a 16-year hiatus. Furthermore, Topps is set to assume exclusive NFL trading card rights starting April 1, 2026, taking over from Panini. The company is actively releasing new products across various sports, including 2026 Topps Series 1 Baseball, which celebrates the 75th anniversary of Topps Baseball, and new licensed NBA and NFL products. Despite some collector concerns about product value and pricing under Fanatics, Topps remains a dominant force in the collectibles market, leveraging its iconic brand and Fanatics' extensive licensing portfolio.