October 1: Chelsea has announced an expansion of its partnership with Fanatics-owned collectibles heavyweight Topps, becoming the official trading card partner of the men’s and women’s teams under a long-term agreement.
The updated commercial deal includes trading card sets, stickers from the Topps, Match Attax and Merlin brands.
Topps has partnered with the English Premier League club since 2018, and the new deal will allow Topps to include more player autographs and game memorabilia for fans.
The sports trading card industry is a booming business, with thousands upon thousands of collectors worldwide. The most expensive football card ever sold was a Lionel Messi Mega Cracks card from the 2004/5 season, bought at a private sale for $1,500,000.
In all of sports, the largest transaction ever was a $12,600,000 sale of a 1952 Topps baseball legend Mickey Mantle.
A market analysis report hosted by Grand View Research valued the global sports trading card market at $13.5 billion, with an expected growth of $14.5 billion by 2026 and $24.7 billion by 2033.
Now the likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Levi Colwell and Joao Pedro could become some of the most sought after cards in the business, with Chelsea set to capitalize on their latest business partnership.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at (email protected)
