THE ATHLETIC: Michael Rubin, turning Fanatics into the ‘Amazon of sports: Our Sports Business Person of the Year

Company: Michael RubinCompany: All
Written By Seth Schlechter

Love or loathe Fanatics Inc, it has evolved over the past year-plus into a major player in the sports industry beyond its core business of licensed college and pro sports apparel and merchandise.

That’s why owner and CEO Michael Rubin is The Athletic’s Sports Business Person of the Year for 2022, topping a field of contenders that includes Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, Amazon executives Jay Marine and Marie Donoghue, and others.

Over the past year, Rubin has navigated Fanatics into the sports collectibles space, expanded the core apparel business with new deals and acquisitions, and set the stage to get into sports gambling.

What in particular lifts Rubin is the two-pronged masterstroke he pulled off to quickly take control of the trading-card business amid the ongoing sports collectibles boom…

Seth Schlechter
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