Fanatics Just Took Panini’s Most Important License

Another domino has fallen in the Fanatics vs. Panini battle — and it’s a big one.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in the site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

---

Another domino has fallen in the Fanatics vs. Panini battle — and it’s a big one.

Fanatics will become the exclusive FIFA World Cup sticker and trading card provider starting in 2031, according to The Athletic. This comes as a huge blow to Panini — maybe even bigger than the rest of the lost licenses combined.

Panini has been making the World Cup sticker album since 1970. That’s 60 years and generations of fans who have only known the Panini World Cup stickers.

Every four years, the World Cup sticker sales have been a huge cash infusion for Panini, especially over the last several iterations. Millions and potentially billions of dollars.

From The Athletic:

According to the company’s sales pitch documents obtained by The Athletic, Panini claims it made nearly $720 million in net sales (613 million euros) from its 2022 World Cup products, setting a company record for a single Panini event collection. Panini also estimates net sales of $1.48 billion in 2026 (1.26 billion euros) and $1.5 billion in 2030 (1.3 billion euros) off World Cup licensed products.

Panini’s net sales projections for the entire company are listed with estimates of around $2.47 billion (2.1 billion euros) in 2026 and $2.78 billion (2.37 billion euros) in 2030.

Roughly half of Panini’s projected revenue from 2026 is expected to come from World Cup products.

Half.

That’s what makes this different from losing NBA or NFL rights in the U.S. Those were big, but the World Cup was foundational to Panini’s identity.

For generations of collectors around the world, Panini was the World Cup. The sticker album wasn’t just another product release — it was tradition. Kids trading doubles at school. Families hunting for the final sticker. Entire countries participating in the same ritual every four years.

A few months back, I attended Panini’s World Cup sticker launch event, where former players and collectors shared memories of opening packs as kids.

U.S. soccer great Landon Donovan told me he used to open World Cup sticker packs every Christmas growing up — and now carries on the same tradition with his own children.

And now that cornerstone is gone.

Panini still has two World Cups left before the deal expires in 2031, including the 2026 and 2030 tournaments. But this announcement feels less like a future transition and more like the official beginning of the end.