Bill Simmons may be known for his fiery takes on sports and sports betting, but he also dabbles into sports business at times.
Simmons on Nov. 2brought Michael Rubin, CEO of Fanatics, on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” to discuss the future of the sports memorabilia company as its ventured into more than just merchandise.
Simmons asked Rubin if he could explain the “master plan” for Fanatics, and Rubin explained the broad vision for the company that’s turned into the hub of sports merchandise.
“Our vision is to get the digital sports fan anything they want in one place,” Rubin said. “Our dream in five years or 10 years from now, you go to the Fanatics Sports app and you can do anything you want. You can buy your merchandise, you can get your collectibles, buy and trade them, you can bet on sports, you can get tickets in one place, you can watch live sports.”
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Fanatics has been making moves in the last few years in order to become more than just a sports merchandise company. It purchased the PointsBet sportsbook a few months ago for $225 million, paving the way for sports betting to be part of the Fanatics ecosytem.
In 2022, the company also expanded both its collectibles and memorabilia offerings by buying trading card company Topps and legacy sportswear brand Mitchell and Ness.
Rubin also focused his effort on Fanatics, selling his minority stake in the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. While Rubin has been known to maintain good relationships with executives and athletes, having a stake in a team while also owning a sports betting platform and other additive sports properties presented several potential conflicts of interest.
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He’s now aiming to build this digital sports giant, which he says is not even close to where he thinks it can be, even on the sports merchandise side.
“What we haven’t done is just broken through from an innovation perspective,” Rubin said.
Rubin gave the example of a special Philadelphia Eagles jacket that was a limited drop that he said sold out in 10 minutes. He sees that other brands like Nike (NKE) – Get Free Report have developed a similar method of driving demand through their shoes like the Travis Scott line, and he believes the same can be done in sports.
“We have a big opportunity to bring artists, athlete collaborations and other great brands into the business,” Rubin said.
Simmons also asked Rubin about Fanatics entering live sports to which Rubin said that it could be an opportunity down the line, but his company is focused first on growing what it currently has.
“We can’t take anything more today,” Rubin said. “But I think we’re studying that business. We’re watching it. We’ve seen how things develop and yes, it’s a massive opportunity in the long term.”
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