Fanatics will host its first high-stakes sports skills competition this summer, bringing together 50 professional athletes and celebrities with 50 fans to compete for almost $2 million in prizes.
The event, called Fanatics Games, will take place June 20-22 during Fanatics Fest, an immersive sports festival in New York City. Comedian and actor Tiffany Haddish and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin announced details of the competition Tuesday on “CBS Mornings.”
“We had 70,000 fans show up from across the world” for last year’s inaugural Fanatics Fest, Rubin said. “We went back saying, what do we do to take this to the next level?”
The competition will feature eight sports-themed challenges.
First place wins $1 million, second place receives a $500,000 Ferrari, and third place gets a $250,000 LeBron James rookie trading card from Topps.
Confirmed participants include NFL quarterback Tom Brady, NBA star Kevin Durant, comedian Kevin Hart, former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
Haddish expressed confidence about her chances of winning.
“I’m very athletic. I was all-city in high school shot put. I run fast, jump high and throw hard,” she said.
The competition builds on last year’s Fanatics Fest, which featured exhibitions from major sports organizations including FIFA, Formula 1, Premier League, NFL, NBA and NHL, along with partnerships with Dick’s Sporting Goods and Nike.
Applications for the 50 fan spots are being accepted now through the Fanatics website.
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