Topps has had the baseball card license since 1952 and has produced baseball cards every year since then without interruption. They have the exclusive rights from Major League Baseball to produce physical baseball cards with players’ names, images and statistics. This lucrative license has been regularly renewed by MLB and is a major source of revenue for both the league and Topps.
The baseball card industry overall has been steady in recent years, with around $600-800 million in total annual sales industry wide according to market research estimates. While digital collectibles and NFTs involving sports and trading cards have grown rapidly, physical card sales remain substantial. Topps in particular has continued to be the dominant company in the baseball card space, controlling over 50% of total physical baseball card sales annually.
Topps’ parent company, Fanatics, acquired Topps for $500 million in January 2022. Fanatics is a large sports merchandise company that also owns the exclusive NFL and NBA trading card licenses. This acquisition was seen as a strategic move by Fanatics to gain more control over the entire baseball card category. Fanatics has emphasized that they value Topps’ history in the industry and do not plan to disrupt its baseball card production.
Topps has multi-year contracts in place with MLB and the individual MLB Players Association that renewed most recently in 2021. These contracts lock in Topps’ baseball card exclusive rights through at least the 2025 season. As long as Topps maintains these licenses, they will be obligated to produce a certain number of new baseball card releases every year, including the flagship Topps Series 1 and Series 2 sets. Topps also does special theme sets and limited editions that help drive revenue.
There are no indications that Topps’ baseball card production will be scaled back or suspended for the 2023 season. They have stable access to player images and rights from MLB/MLBPA. Retailers like Target, Walmart and LCS stores continue promoting the hobby and selling Topps cards. Upper management at Topps and Fanatics has said they plan continued physical card releases alongside expanding into digital collectibles. The company posted record financials in 2021, showing the baseball card market remains healthy.
Fanatics likely wants to use Topps to build out a comprehensive digital collectible platform involving baseball cards, but they understand the importance of maintaining the traditional physical side of the business too. Given all of these factors like multi-year contracts, retail relationships, financial performance and management strategy – it is extremely unlikely Topps would stop producing physical baseball cards for the 2023 season which marks their 71st year in the hobby. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, fans can fully expect Topps to deliver another full year of new baseball card sets, packs and boxes on store shelves in 2023 as they have continuously since the early 1950s.
With over 70 years of history in the industry, exclusive MLB licenses through at least 2025, retail partnerships, profitable financials and ownership that values physical cards – all signs point to Topps continuing its tradition of new baseball card releases for the 2023 season. Their position as the dominant force in this space remains secure. Baseball card collectors can rest assured knowing that the steady flow of new Topps cards depicting their favorite players and teams will persist far into the future.
