Fanatics Founder & Exec Chair Michael Rubin said he believes he can grow the company "over the next decade to a $10 billion plus business." Appearing on ESPN Radio's "Golic & Wingo" today, Rubin said he plans to reach that goal by taking the "same vertical converse model we have, further grow it in the professional sports business, but then also take it to college, soccer, globally." Rubin said, "Really anytime there's a licensed property, we can verticalize that business, best service the fan, and really do it everywhere in the globe." He added, "Licensed sports is a $25 billion global business and licensed merchandise is a $150 billion global business, so once we further our penetration within the licensed sports category, we’re certainly going to broaden into other licenses overtime." Rubin said the college space is "really going to be our fastest growing business going forward." Rubin: "The NFL is over a billion dollar business for us. College is actually a bigger business than the NFL, but for Fanatics, it’s a much smaller business. The difference is, in the professional sports leagues, you go league-by-league and you make your deals. In college, you have to go school-by-school, same as soccer." Rubin said Fanatics is "now working very aggressively in both soccer and college to acquire the rights and then take the same model that we’ve made successful in the professional sports leagues and take it to college and soccer" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 1/30).
