THE ATHLETIC: Fanatics Fest 2025: The coolest things we saw (and didn’t see)

Fanatics Fest might be the best value for money in sports today.

Anyone who hasn’t attended either of the three-day events held at New York’s Javits Center might find that shocking, but its case has only strengthened from year one to year two of its existence. Yes, there are a plethora of pricey merch, trading card, autograph and photo opportunity offerings that can easily skyrocket the total cost of a day at the fest (a single-day entry ticket was $60 for adults and $30 for kids this year), but all of those elements are shockingly non-essential to having a fun and unique experience that’s almost entirely different from someone else there at the same time.