Fanatics has signed a long-term extension of its deal to operate the e-commerce site for the National Football League while also expanding its online and manufacturing rights with the league.
Beyond continuing to operate nflshop.com and 15 NFL team sites, Fanatics secured broader rights around “hot market” opportunities, such as championship gear. Fanatics also received greater opportunities to come up with gear for “micro moments,” which are special feats or unplanned events that can be translated to memorabilia on products like T-shirts or posters.
An example of a “micro moments” would be the New York Giants Odell Beckham Jr.’s one-handed catch against the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. The overall extension gives Fanatics the opportunity to develop product around other feats such as an athlete breaking a record, an underdog upset or other unplanned event, such as the retirement of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.
Two or three years ago, the technology wouldn’t have been available to enable the industry to respond to a feat such as Beckham Jr.’s catch that went viral across social media. The turnaround time to create a t-shirt honoring the feat would have at least a week.
With sped-up approval practices, production innovation in the fan space, and Fanatics’ own efforts to add manufacturing capacity, a shirt honoring the moment can arrive on Fanatic’s site and its partners’ sites within hours.
Fanatics has secured similar arrangements with many of the other leagues it works with. It has partnerships with MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, NASCAR and the PGA Tour.
“The consumption of sports is going mobile, fueled by technology and social media, and fans don’t just want the information immediately but the product as well,” Meier Raivich, VP of communications for Fanatics, told SportsOneSource. “Were uniquely positioned to help.”
Meanwhile, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) is reportedly granting Fanatics the right to decide who can use players’ names and images on apparel and other merchandise, according to Bloomberg News. Bloomberg indicated it had secured a letter the union sent to its current partners about the change.
Under the new arrangement, Fanatics will replace Nike, which holds the NFL's uniform license, beginning March 2017.
"The driving charge of the NFLPA’s licensing and marketing arm, NFL Players Inc., is to maximize the sales and assortment of player-identified products and to generate increased exposure for our members," the NFLPA said in the letter. "We have spent significant time evaluating industry trends and new business models in order to determine the most effective way to achieve these objectives."
The NFLPA hasn’t responded to media requests.
