Fanatics announced an exclusive memorabilia partnership with Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes on Thursday morning.
In the new agreement, Fanatics will become the sole distributor of all officially licensed Skenes memorabilia, including autographed baseballs, jerseys, hats, photos, game-used equipment and more.
Skenes, a two-time All-Star and current favorite to win the NL Cy Young joins athletes such as Tom Brady, Aaron Judge, Victor Wembanyama and Sabrina Ionescu, who already have exclusive deals with Fanatics, which operates under Fanatics Authentic, the company's memorabilia and collectibles division.
“Paul Skenes has quickly become one of baseball’s most popular stars, and Fanatics is thrilled to be working together,” Fanatics executive vice president Victor Shaffer said in a press release. “What makes this partnership so exciting is the perfect match between a player of Paul’s caliber, who has taken the sport by storm, and the exclusive memorabilia and collectibles to celebrate his accomplishments that will become treasured pieces by fans and collectors of all ages.”
Skenes has quickly risen to one of the top players in the entire hobby. His Topps Rookie Debut Patch sold for $1.11 million back in March via a Fanatics Collect auction. The No. 2 most expensive card in the series belongs to Jackson Holliday, at $198,000.
According to Market Movers, only Shohei Ohtani has outpaced Skenes in terms of overall sales across the last calendar year. And in total money spent, Skenes' market has been more robust recently than legends such as Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente and Ken Griffey Jr.
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.