(Bloomberg) -- Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani has signed an exclusive long-term deal with Topps, the trading-card label owned by Fanatics Inc., as the company adds more star power to its lineup.
As part of the arrangement with the two-way player from Japan, Topps will release cards with autographs and embedded with game-used memorabilia in the US and Japan.
“We’ll be featuring him in products across the board,” David Leiner, president of trading cards at Fanatics Collectibles, said in an interview. “Ohtani’s global stature continues to rise.”
Ohtani, who signed a record 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, has been the hottest name in baseball since making the jump to the US from Japan in 2018. This year, he became the fastest player ever to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season.
The exact length of the Topps deal was not disclosed, but Ohtani said in a statement that it will last “for seasons to come.”
Leiner said Japan is a growing collectibles market, especially in baseball. Cards have long been available there — sold in standalone packs or with potato chips. Topps has arrangements in place with several other Japanese baseball stars, including Seattle Mariners icon Ichiro Suzuki, New York Yankees legend Hideki Matsui and Ohtani’s teammate, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Fanatics has been seeking out deals with top athletes since it stormed into the collectibles industry in 2021 by securing licensing agreements with pro sports leagues, including long-term exclusive rights with the MLB and its players’ unions. It acquired Topps for about $500 million in 2022.
In January, Fanatics signed NBA star LeBron James to an exclusive multiyear deal after his tie-up with rival cardmaker Upper Deck expired.
“You’re going to see more of these sorts of deals,” said Leiner. “More marketing, more athlete partnerships.”
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