Yankee Great Derek Jeter Launching Online Trading-Card Marketplace

New York Yankees Hall of Famer Derek Jeter will roll out a digital trading-card platform amid a boom in sports collectibles, a Bloomberg report said Sunday (Sept. 11).

Called Arena Club, it will give users online showrooms for their card collections, letting them engage in buying, selling and trading. The cards will be graded and kept at the company’s vault — members will have digital proof of ownership, allowing for fast deals and no shipping.

Jeter began work a few years back alongside Brian Lee, the former CEO of Honest Co. It will launch on Thursday (Sept. 15).

Arena’s management places great importance on the grading aspect of the business, with cards graded on quality and condition. A number of firms like Professional Sports Authenticator, Beckett Grading Services and Sportscard Guaranty Co. have dominated the space, but Lee has said their company wants to add speed and transparency, making use of computer vision and machine learning.

It comes as the collectibles industry has been busy, with investors pouring money into the whole sector. Many startups have popped up, including Dibbs and Alt, backed by Amazon, which has raised funds from venture firms from NBA star Kevin Durant and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

The boom has led sports retailer Fanatics to make its own trading-card operation, and the company bought rival Topps last year. Other deals have also been inked — eBay, for example, bought marketplace TCGplayer recently.

Fanatics said in March that it wanted to debut a brand of trading cards that would go beyond sports and into a broader pop culture space, PYMNTS wrote.

Read more: Fanatics Enters Trading Card Space With Zerocool Launch

The company wants to do licensing deals with production studios, musicians and fashion houses, which could help it expand its intellectual property. The company has said it likely will not get into card grading, though it could partner with another company that already does card grading.