The amended allegation
Trading card maker Panini has added a major claim to its three-year-old antitrust lawsuit against Fanatics, alleging that Fanatics obtained exclusive NFL and NBA trading card licenses by exploiting Panini's confidential licensing information, according to a filing reported on August 14, 2026. Panini's proposed amended complaint states that "Fanatics acquired its long-term exclusives through the use of Panini's confidential information," and that Fanatics "gained access to Panini's commercially sensitive, confidential licensing information in direct violation of the confidentiality provisions contained in those licenses or in violation of confidentiality Panini was entitled to expect regarding this information." The filing does not specify how Fanatics allegedly gathered the information.
What Panini says was taken
In the amended complaint, Panini asserts that Fanatics "obtained granular details of Panini's existing deals, including the precise royalty rate, minimum guarantee schedule, marketing commitments, and autograph spend obligations under Panini's licenses" and then "used that information in connection with procuring exclusive licenses" with the NFL, NBA and their respective players' associations. The claim focuses on the leagues' exclusive trading card categories that Panini previously held and that Fanatics now controls.
Fanatics' response
Fanatics has rejected the allegation. A company spokesperson said: "After three years of litigation and hundreds of thousands of pages of discovery, Panini has been unable to find facts to support its baseless allegations – and its proposed amended complaint makes that painfully clear. Rather than advancing any legitimate claim, Panini is just trying to delay the case by attacking its former licensing partners because they chose a better, more innovative model with Fanatics, which continues to be proven out with each new league Topps launches."
Competing evidence and what remains unclear
Panini's new allegation rests on inferences drawn from confidential licensing terms Fanatics is alleged to have accessed before negotiating with the leagues; the filing does not describe a specific transfer, hack or leak of documents. Fanatics has produced no factual counter-evidence in the reporting reviewed, only a denial. How Panini intends to prove the alleged misuse, whether the court will permit the amendment, and what discovery has surfaced on either side remain unresolved in the available reporting.
Context for the trading card fight
The antitrust litigation has run for roughly three years and centers on Fanatics' acquisition of exclusive NFL and NBA trading card rights, which previously belonged to Panini. Fanatics has since launched multiple high-value cards through Topps, including a Cooper Flagg rookie card and a Paul Skenes 1-of-1 patch card that have been valued above seven figures, underscoring the commercial stakes behind the dispute.
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