NEW YORK — More than 125,000 sports fans and collectors poured into the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan over the weekend for an event that, at this time last year, Fanatics didn’t know would work at all.
The concept seemed simple enough — take what the pop-culture industry had done with comic cons and create the sports and collectibles version — but nothing is ever certain.
Two events and 11 months later, Fanatics has its answer.
“Last year, we had a good idea that we needed to prove was actually wanted and had a purpose, had a need,” Fanatics Events CEO Lance Fensterman told cllct. “That happened, but it was really hard. This year was about how we make it awesome, and I think we accomplished that.”
How was the version 2.0 of @FanaticsFest?
— cllct (@cllctMedia) June 24, 2025
Cllct gave it high marks ???? pic.twitter.com/zmhGc7ZV6k
Internally, Fanatics felt Year 2 was strong with individual divisions, such as merchandise and athlete relations, successfully collaborating with the collectibles, memorabilia, live streaming and gaming businesses.
More importantly, however, the external feedback saw major improvements year-over-year.
According to Fensterman, Fanatics Fest’s net promoter score, which helps gauge the success of the event, saw a 110% increase from fans. The NPS for exhibitors, which is made up of brands, professional leagues and individual trading card dealers, increased 200% from last year.
Of the successes, Fensterman believes the Fanatics Games event was the clear winner.
Eventually won by NFL legend Tom Brady, Fanatics Games featured dozens of professional athletes and celebrities taking on ordinary fans in eight skill-based games for the chance at $2 million in total cash and prizes.
Matt Dennish, a 39-year-old high school teacher in York, Pennsylvania, finished third overall as the top-ranked fan. Dennish traded his prize, a 2003-04 Topps Chrome LeBron James Gold Refractor BGS 9.5, to Brady for $250,000 and a signed Brady card and jersey.
RELATED STORIES:
- Grading Fanatics Fest NYC 2025: cllct's event scorecard
- Fanatics Fest now rivals industry's top card shows
- Fanatics Fest NYC 2025: Scenes from Javits Center
- Tom Brady takes home title at inaugural Fanatics Games
- Meet the fan who placed third against pros in Fanatics Games
Brady used his $1 million first-place prize to give $5,000 to all 50 fans who competed before donating the rest to charity.
“It was something that we kind of made up from scratch and it had a lot of opportunities to go very poorly,” Fensterman said of Fanatics Games. “Moving pieces and a lot of moving people and it could have come apart at the seams at any moment. And it didn’t.”
There are, of course, still improvements to be made. Trading card dealers expressed to cllct the show was a major improvement from 2024, but still needed adjustments.
Fensterman says some logistical issues made loading in for some dealers difficult Friday, but that’s fixable. Fanatics Fest could also do a better job injecting more hobby-related content into the shows and panels — more niché content in general could be a way to better resonate with specific groups visiting.
A main objective now will be how Fanatics Fest can lean into what it did right with minor course corrections. Fensterman cited “athlete proximity” as a key feature for the event, so Fanatics Fest will look to increase the number of interactions fans have with their idols but also aim to make the logistical challenges included less of a burden.
“It sort of felt like, beginning to end, that what we were trying to accomplish around this intersection of sports culture, entertainment and collecting, was being embraced by the community we were building it for.”
After reportedly losing $15 million on the event in 2024, Fensterman says Fanatics Fest 2025 performed “significantly” better financially, but declined to offer exact details. He and Fanatics stand by the event’s long-term vision, reiterating profit will eventually come as long as the company continues to focus on building something special.
Fensterman confirmed to cllct Fanatics Fest will return to NYC next summer, and Fanatics Events hopes to announce future plans soon. For now the team will dig into improving its flagship show for an even bigger event in 2026.
“We’ve proven that there is a need and desire and that when done well it will resonate with fans, brands and athletes,” Fensterman said. “How we choose to play in that space going forward is a fun question that we’ll get to answer in the coming months.”
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the Collectibles Editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.