- The trading cards will feature WWE’s famous stars and moments.
- All trading cards will have the Topps logo, which Fanatics owns.
- The NFTs will start dropping after WWE’s trading card rights expire in a few years.
Professional wrestling company WWE has entered into a deal with Fanatics to design and launch non-fungible token (NFT) trading cards. The companies revealed this news through a joint statement earlier today, noting that Fanatics will use Candy Digital, its digital collectible company, to create a new, improved experience for WWE fans.
According to the announcement, this deal will also involve the creation of e-commerce and licensed merchandise as well as physical and digital trading cards. These trading cards will feature WWE’s famed wrestlers and famous moments. Additionally, they will comprise the Topps logo, which belongs to a card brand that Fanatics purchased earlier this year.
Under this agreement, Candy Digital will become one of WWE’s primary NFT partners. The company’s team, which comprises world-class NFT artists, designers, and technologists, will curate and develop a wide array of quality trading card NFTs.
WWE expects to reap multiple benefits from this deal, including creating more benefits for its global audience.
Commenting on this partnership, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said,
Fanatics is the industry leader and Michael Rubin is a visionary. We believe this multi-platform partnership will set a new standard for WWE e-commerce, apparel and merchandise, while providing our fans globally with more ways than ever to engage with WWE and our Superstars.
WWE fans will have to exercise some patience
Explaining why Fanatics decided to enter a partnership with WWE, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin said,
WWE is one of the most widely admired sports and entertainment properties worldwide, and it made perfect sense to activate many parts of our Fanatics global platform to create a first-of-its-kind, all-in fan experience.
Rubin added that the partnership presents a unique opportunity to offer WWE fans across the globe a chance to celebrate their favorite superstars, marquee events, and the WWE brand as a whole.
As part of this deal, Fanatics will also re-introduce new, rapid e-commerce, and mobile destination, WWE Shop, this summer. Reportedly, WWE Shop will offer fans across the globe access to an assortment of WWE merchandise. This includes apparel, title belts, headwear, and accessories, to name a few.
However, WWE fans will have to be patient, seeing as the trading cards will not hit the market any time soon. The inhibiting factor is WWE’s current trading cards rights, which expire over the next few years. After the expiration of these rights, Fanatics will become WWE’s exclusive provider of trading cards.
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