NEW YORK — Fanatics Fest launched its most elaborate marketing campaign yet Thursday with a Brooklyn billboard featuring game-used jerseys valued at more than $1.5 million combined.
Billed as the Most Valuable Billboard, the display was created to promote the sale of tickets for Fanatics Fest 2026, which runs July 16-19.
The four jerseys on display correspond to dates for the show, using Joe Montana (16), Shohei Ohtani (17), Peyton Manning (18) and Johnny Unitas (19).
Fanatics Fest just put up a billboard worth $1.5 million in Brooklyn.
— cllct (@cllctMedia) November 13, 2025
Ad for the 2026 show features game-used jerseys from Joe Montana, Shohei Ohtani, Peyton Manning and Johnny Unitas. pic.twitter.com/aXA6Bx00av
According to Fanatics, Montana’s jersey was worn during his 1990 MVP season, Ohtani’s jersey was worn during a Tokyo Series game March 19 and Manning’s jersey was worn during his final NFL appearance in Super Bowl 50.
Unitas’ jersey was worn during Super Bowl III and originally believed to have been lost before being recently rediscovered and authenticated.
According to Fanatics Events Senior VP Mike Armstrong, the company previously looked at jerseys for Tony Gwynn and Lionel Messi before the Unitas jersey surfaced.
“The initial reaction [to the idea] was, ‘You mean we’re going to put $1.5 million worth of jerseys out in the public?’ The reaction was, ‘Yeah, we’re going to do that,’” Armstrong told cllct. “It came together quick. We got in touch with some amazing collectors and were able to pull together the jerseys we needed.”
The jerseys will only be displayed through Thursday night and are guarded by round-the-clock security.
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Billed as a comic-con for sports fans, Fanatics Fest 2026 will be the third entry in the event’s history following its debut in 2024. Fanatics Fest 2025 saw more than 125,000 fans attend the three-day event in New York's Javits Center.
Fanatics Fest 2026 will expand to four days and run alongside the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.
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_Matt Liberman contributed reporting to this story. _
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.