CNBC: WWE Taps Fanatics to Sell Merchandise at Live Events like WrestleMania, SummerSlam

Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment is expanding its partnership with Fanatics, as the growing sports platform will now take over the global event merchandise business for the professional wrestling company.

That means Fanatics will now operate all of the on-site retail at the WWE’s more than 300 events throughout the year, including its premier live events like WrestleMania and the Royale Rumble. The deal will kick off on May 1, ahead of WWE’s Backlash event.

Fanatics became WWE’s global e-commerce partner in 2022, a deal that later grew to include licensed merchandise, memorabilia, trading cards and collectibles.

“We’ve already experienced [Fanatics’] expertise in this category, and when we sat down and thought about how we could approach growing our retail business, we thought this could strengthen that growth,” said Alex Varga, WWE senior vice president and head of corporate development…