Announced Thursday, Los Angeles Dodgers star and two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani has signed an exclusive, long-term worldwide trading card deal with Topps, a division of Fanatics Collectibles.
Ohtani has signed other deals with Fanatics, including an exclusive autograph, collectibles and memorabilia deal in 2021 that did not include sports cards.
“Ohtani has been part of the Topps family since he signed with the Angels in late 2017, early 2018, so this deal is super important to us,” said David Leiner, president of trading cards at Fanatics Collectibles. “Best player in the game, unique, global player who pitches and hits. You have to have that guy in the product, you have to have his autographs and memorabilia for fans to chase.”
The agreement includes autographs and game memorabilia, focusing on moments and achievements, and will feature products from the United States and Japan, an emerging region for Topps and collecting.
“I am excited to partner exclusively with Topps to provide fans with unique cards and collectibles for seasons to come,” Ohtani said in a statement.
Ohtani joins Japanese players Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui with Topps contracts.
“The Japanese allocation is a large portion and you can be sure that there is never enough for the accounts in Japan. (product)says Leiner. “They’re always demanding more. Our largest Japanese partner, Mint Collectibles, owns and operates a chain of 28 stores across Japan and the hobby is very much alive there.”
In early January 2018, Fanatics opened an office in Tokyo and formed Fanatics Japan, almost four years to the day before the acquisition of Topps. Topps followed suit and opened an office in Tokyo in 2021.
“We’re pushing, we’re well distributed,” Leiner says. “7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson’s, the hobby is still in its infancy there, but we’re going to keep pushing and grow there. Japan is a great baseball country, a passionate group of people there, and (Shohei) is so important at home.”
Leiner points out that Opening Day 2025 will be the Dodgers’ game against the Chicago Cubs in mid-March at the Tokyo Dome: “Expect some fun stuff there with our new exclusive.”
While financial details were not disclosed, Leiner said the deal is similar to the one Fanatics made with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James in January of this year and is “more long-term than a lot of the other deals you see us do.”
“We want to change the way our athlete partnership group works,” Leiner says. “In the past, trading card companies would give an athlete a thousand cards in a hotel room on the road or something and scribble on them. It’s no secret that these people make a lot of money. (But) we want real partnerships, 360-degree deals; they’ll sign their cards, that’s part of the deal, but there are bells and whistles – marketing and partnerships in the category, social media – and we’re trying, like with LeBron, to bring Shohei into the family and have a real partnership.”
Although the deal does not include any contractual appearances, given the level and significance of the deal, Leiner says Topps and Fanatics expect Ohtani to participate in programs and authentically elevate the collectibles category on social media.
Leiner also points out that Ohtani himself is a collector.
“When he signs cards” — Leiner notes that Topps continues to be flexible, with Ohtani signing the inscriptions in English or kanji — “he asks a lot of questions, looks at them, understands them and likes them. He has some cards of his own, we’ve made cards for him too; last year we called it A Transcendent Season, put it in a really nice box, he (set) it on social media.
“He loves seeing kids in the stadiums, fans with his cards trying to get them signed at the stadium. He has a lot of respect for this category, ever since he himself was an up-and-coming superstar in the Nippon Professional Baseball League.”
Ohtani is currently the NL leader in home runs, slugging and OPS, and he is second in RBIs and stolen bases. According to ESPN Bet, he is a -1600 favorite to win the NL MVP, which would be his third MVP award in seven MLB seasons. Only 11 players in MLB history have won three.
“(Shohei) is a guy who has a chance to grow the sport of baseball on a global level, and something that is very important to me – and something that we at Fanatics are very important to – is global expansion,” Leiner says. “This guy is doing something we haven’t seen since Babe Ruth, and hopefully (Shohei continues to convert) turn more fans into collectors.”
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