Fanatics Fest 2025: The coolest things we saw (and didn't see)

New York Times

3 hours ago

Fanatics Fest might be the best value for money in sports today.
Anyone who hasn't attended either of the three-day events held at New York's Javits Center might find that shocking, but its case has only strengthened from year one to year two of its existence. Yes, there are a plethora of pricey merch, trading card, autograph and photo opportunity offerings that can easily skyrocket the total cost of a day at the fest (a single-day entry ticket was $60 for adults and $30 for kids this year), but all of those elements are shockingly non-essential to having a fun and unique experience that's almost entirely different from someone else there at the same time.
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At most events, you might need to be in the exact right spot at the exact right time in order to witness the one viral moment that takes place there. At Fanatics Fest this year, moments like that were happening all the time, everywhere, and involving some of the biggest athletes and celebrities in the world all throughout the three days. It was honestly both impressive and overwhelming. Everyone who attended for The Athletic agreed that they left each day of the event feeling like they saw first-hand a dizzying array of notable things and experiences, only to get back to their hotel room each night and pull up their social media feeds to see a dozen other interesting moments they had missed.
'(Fanatics Fest) makes people love Fanatics,' said Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. 'The way we can pull together 300 of the world's best athletes, artists, celebrities together with every sport in the world that matters and have them all in one place. … We invest a lot of money in this. We lose a lot of money doing this. But this is the way we tell the Fanatics story. We have all of our businesses here. We bring everything here. It's just the way we want to tell our story. … Putting this on is harder than running our three businesses (commerce, collectibles, and betting) combined.'
Rubin estimated that Fanatics lost around $15 million on last year's event, which was significantly smaller than this year's. Attendance in year one was around 75,000 and in year two it exceeded 125,000, according to the company.
First and foremost this year, there were the news events that played out over the three days — from Victor Wembanyama speaking publicly for the first time since his injury to Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris buying a $500,000 Jayden Daniels rookie card at Topps trade night (a free after-hours event at the venue on Saturday night that was open to all attendees) with Daniels standing beside him to Kevin Durant's trade to the Houston Rockets being announced for the first time while he was on stage.
Then there were the countless other moments that filled everyone's social media timelines. It would be impossible to list them all here, so here are just some of our favorites.
Coolest thing I saw: It will be hard for me to ever forget the image of the 7-foot-3 Victor Wembanyama standing in bath robes and then shirtless next to the 5-foot-4 Kevin Hart to open a live episode of Hart's 'Cold as Balls' podcast during Saturday's session. Rubin had custom metal tubs designed for Wembanyama and Hart, which properly suited each star given their uniquely varying heights.
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There were several star-studded panels throughout the weekend I attended, including 'The Shop Live' with LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Wembanyama, that brought out the seriousness of the event's star power. As well as a panel with Rubin, Brady and musician Travis Scott, that basically turned into a reason for Scott to perform a brief, but rowdy set.
Still, Wemby's comfort level and demeanor felt natural and likable, even with so much attention attached to him during a blockbuster event.
Coolest thing I didn't see: Tom Brady made more appearances at the Fest seemingly than Rubin himself. And that's saying something given how much Rubin relishes being front and center of the sports mastodon he created.
I watched Brady serve as a guest on numerous panels, I watched him participate in live card box breaks and cram into his own sports card vault with buddy Mark Wahlberg. But man, I wished I could've witnessed firsthand Brady's journey through the Fanatics Games. I knew the absurdly competitive Brady would take this competition against fellow athletes, celebrities, and 50 fans seriously. But it still sort of surprised me that he won it, given how many active elite athletes participated (Brady divided up his $1 million prize by buying the rare LeBron James rookie card won by the fan who finished third for $250,000 and promised $5,000 to each of the 49 other fans who participated).
The showstopper occurred when Brady strutted down the makeshift WWE aisle for the superstar entrance portion of the competition, tearing up a Giants jersey only to be 'attacked' from behind by Eli Manning. Brady carried Manning on his back back to the 'dressing room.'
It's chaos at @FanaticsFest! 👀@TomBrady just ripped up an @EliManning jersey, and that wasn't going to fly with Eli! 🤣@Fanatics pic.twitter.com/VvjNGzxKTC
— WWE (@WWE) June 20, 2025
—Larry Holder
The coolest thing I saw: It wasn't a thing, it was a vibe: tens of thousands of people who have eschewed cool-guy aloofness and opted instead to enthuse unironically — sharing in the thing they love most.
I saw yolked-up dudes cry meeting their sports heroes. I saw grandmothers scream over Kevin Costner (and wolf-whistle when he said his sports films succeeded 'because they were about girls'). I saw little kids holding hand-painted posters watching their parents compete in the Fanatics Games. I sat on a railing with LeBron fans while the tallest guy offered to hold up each person's camera to get a good shot of their idol. I stood on a shaky, over-crowded bleacher next to a mom whose son was competing against Joey Chestnut in a Raising Cane's chicken finger eating contest. (Sorry to say Joey Chestnut obliterated him.)
Raising Cane's was insane today 🤩🔥 pic.twitter.com/TZgdmcGCfS
— Fanatics (@Fanatics) June 21, 2025
The coolest thing I didn't see: By the time I heard Victor Wembanyama was downstairs playing chess against 100 fans, it was too crowded to see. I heard 15 minutes too late that Joe Burrow was throwing pitches on the other side of the expo floor (reportedly, not well!). I saw Livvy Dunne in the eating contest (on a team with DJ Khaled, Druski, and Rubin, lmao) but I missed when she bought a rare Paul Skenes baseball card. I asked Cam Jordan about something he's been gifted that he considers a priceless collectible ('Me!'), and RG3 showed me one of his favorite pairs of socks (Ninja Turtles), but I didn't get to see Tom Brady challenge Eli Manning on the WWE floor, either.
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The place was suffused with a sense of serendipity mixed with panic, because you had to be in the right place at the right time. I think that was both wonderful and maddening: Fans had the unimaginable opportunity to be up close and personal with Tom Brady, but you also had to take your life in your hands fighting through the crowd to get there.
The love of collecting is something like hunger for a quest — pursuing a potentially unattainable goal with a blend of joy, dogged persistence and a touch of lunacy. Not unlike the Fanatics Fest experience.
—Hannah Vanbiber
Coolest thing I saw: Watching Joe Montana, Dan Marino and Jayden Daniels on a panel moderated by Taylor Rooks was quite the scene. The crowd was predominantly pro-Jayden but everyone enjoyed the insights of Montana (the former/still GOAT?) and Marino (a downfield deep ball passer ahead of his time). Marino got the most laughs out of the crowd not being able to resist a deflated balls joke about his former AFC East rivals. Both legendary former quarterbacks had nothing but good things to say about Daniels and his historic rookie season. Daniels seemed to be genuinely appreciative of the praise he received face to face with two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play, especially the praise from Montana, who Daniels admitted was his father's favorite, and who he was told to emulate as a California kid dreaming of being a quarterback one day. If you were a paying customer and willing to wait in line (assuming you didn't purchase VIP access), candid conversations with sports stars were everywhere on various stages.
Coolest thing I didn't see: Kevin Durant being traded in real time and finding out about it while on stage Sunday might have been the wildest moment of Fanatics Fest among many contenders. The buzz in the crowd seemed like a collective 'I can't believe this happened right now.' For all the many things that may have been pre-arranged at Fanatics Fest, the Durant trade seemed like organic magic for those in attendance.
The crowd couldn't believe what just happened 🤯 pic.twitter.com/T7KcQyrJ8t
— Fanatics (@Fanatics) June 22, 2025
—David Betancourt
The coolest thing I saw was completely unexpected — the Grays Sports Almanac from 'Back to the Future II.' Not the one you can get easily as a mere replica. But the one that was screen-used in the movie.
One personally owned by Michael J. Fox sold for $30,625 last year, which seems like a bargain, frankly. I'm not sure if Fanatics is testing the water at Fanatics Fest with this one movie memorabilia exhibit. But it makes sense that Topps, given their involvement with Marvel and Star Wars and various non-sports celebrities, would get into this space.
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Screen used Hollywood memorabilia is usually one of one, at least when tied to a scene or a shot in a famous movie. And I guess it could be 'cardified,' for lack of a better term. Maybe they chop up Dorothy's slippers into 200 pieces and embed those pieces into 200 cards. That seems borderline criminal but they do the same thing with iconic jerseys and Babe Ruth bats. (Don't worry, 'Wizard of Oz' fanatics; Dorothy's actual slippers are safe in the Smithsonian.) They found Bruce the Shark from Jaws (one of them) in a junkyard, where it was languishing. So it's not crazy to think the outer rubberized skin and teeth can end up being slabbed. Maybe one day they'll do the same thing with the Mona Lisa!
Objectively, the coolest thing I missed at the show, which was mostly a cultural event and not much of a memorabilia show for my vintage tastes, was the Travis Scott concert. But personally, I wish I saw Burrow struggle so mightily to hit a stationary strike zone with a baseball that it seemed like a put on.
Joe Burrow pitches … just a bit outside 😅⚾️ pic.twitter.com/TTiZovt0c6
— MLB (@MLB) June 22, 2025
—Michael Salfino
The coolest things I saw: I was able to check out the 'Netflix Sports Club.' My favorite part of the experience was the golf simulator and putting green to promote Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore 2. The putting green looked like it was taken straight out of the first movie, featuring Happy's boots and the one-eyed alligator holding Chubbs' wooden hand. The putter you use is even a replica of Happy's famous hockey stick putter, which will be officially available for purchase following the movie release. Fans also received a mini movie poster and a small box of 'Shooter McGavin's Pieces of S*** For Breakfast' cereal — a nod to the hilarious scene in the first film.
I'm being told @netflix is handing these out at Fanatics Fest. Hilarious. pic.twitter.com/FeFzGr0dLN
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) June 20, 2025
The MLB activation also brought a fun ballpark experience, featuring a pitching cage with speed radar and one-of-a-kind baseball memorabilia on display. Some of the unique pieces shown included the 2023 World Baseball Classic trophy and a Julio Rodriguez Autographed 2022 Home Run Derby graffiti-design bat.
The coolest things I didn't see: I missed out on the Topps trade night and the Commanders owner purchasing Daniels' 1/1 Prizm Black Finite rookie card from dealer Roth Cards for a whopping $500,000.
I also didn't get the opportunity to see any of the panels at The Theatre due to its confusing entrance and location on Level 1. This, combined with how large and separated the two show floors were throughout the Javits Center, I found myself spending most of my time where the brand/league activations and card dealers were located on Level 3.
—Tyler Holzhammer
The coolest thing I saw: The fact that every athlete or celebrity I saw was fully bought into the spirit of the event and not just going through the motions or there to collect a check. Fanatics got a ton of huge names — not the long-forgotten or unknown benchwarmers — to engage with fans and act goofy and seemingly have actual fun. That's what really puts this event over the top. To that point, John Cena was the MVP of Fanatics Games. He did everything in his power not to win it (presumably so the fans who were competing could have a better shot at the prizes), but he did it in the most creative way possible. His six-ball pitching demonstration and power punch were highlights.
Can't see him in anything 🚫🤣 @WWE pic.twitter.com/gjHnhxHhum
— Fanatics (@Fanatics) June 21, 2025
Speaking of wrestlers, the WWE entrances were so fun. Not just the ones performed by the athletes and actual WWE superstars, but the ones all the fans did, ranging from little kids jumping around in fake mullets and beards to adults who meticulously re-enacted their favorite wrestler's every movement. At one point on Saturday I realized I had been standing there watching these for over an hour with a smile on my face the whole time. The very best one came on Friday, when a Macho Man Randy Savage impersonator did his entrance in a full St. Louis Cardinals uniform, with 'Poffo' printed on the back (Savage's real last name) and a Slim Jim in hand. Why a Cardinals uniform? Poffo/Savage was signed by the organization as a catcher out of high school. Impressive.
The coolest thing I didn't see: Two stand out. First, Wemby playing chess against 100 fans — many of whom apparently did not know how to play chess.
A post shared by Fanatics (@fanatics)
And Durant, sitting in the balcony of the temporary 40/40 club built inside the venue that served as a refuge for the VIPs, graciously holding out his hands for one of the fans down below to throw him an item to sign, only for a bunch of people to all chuck things at him at once.
A post shared by Fanatics Sportsbook (@fanaticssportsbook)
—Brooks Peck
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(Top photo of Tom Brady:for Fanatics)