Explaining Fanatics’ whopping $10 billion valuation

Sports merchandise company Fanatics sent a shockwave through Wall Street this week after it revealed its trading card business is valued at more than $10 billion in the course of raising new capital.

Fanatics raised a $350 million round one month after capturing licensing rights for top sports leagues, including Major League Baseball and the National Football League. The e-commerce giant separated its trading card company from its merchandise business in last August. Rubin lured leagues and player unions into leaving current partners by offering equity in the new business.

“The trading card companies are good manufacturers, but they didn’t have a vision for building much more of a direct-to-consumer model and then bringing all the pieces together to create a great collector’s experience,” Fanatics chairman Michael Rubin said Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “It’s what we did in the merchandising category with our Fanatics commerce business — and now…

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