NYC’s Fanatics Fest Brought Celebrities Together With Fans At Multiple Events: Make-A-Wish Foundation Participated While Fans Competed Against World-Class Athletes, Celebrities For Cash Prizes

NYC’s Fanatics Fest Brought Celebrities Together With Fans At Multiple Events: Make-A-Wish Foundation Participated While Fans Competed Against World-Class Athletes, Celebrities For Cash Prizes

View the video below to see clips and photos from the event, most are without sound. Photos and videos are credited as appropriate in the video, and are courtesy of Fanatics Fest NYC and Sean Fitzpatrick:

Here is some information about the games, mentioned below: 

Fanatics Games Information

Fanatics Games is a first-of-its-kind competition in which 50 of the world’s greatest athletes, celebrities,  creators, and 50 hand-picked fans go head-to-head – decathlon style – across eight fast-paced, referee-led challenges, each testing a different athletic skill. The Games will be played throughout all three days of Fanatics Fest with all 100 competitors vying for nearly $2 million in prizes. Participants will compete individually but will move through the course in pairs. Of the eight challenges, only the participants’ six highest scores will count, with each challenge staffed and scored by Fanatics Games Official Referees.

The first-place finisher will win $1 million Cash, the second-place finisher will win a 2025 Ferrari 296 GTB, and the third-place finisher will win a LeBron James 2003-04 Topps Chrome Gold Refractor trading card (recently valued at over $250,000). If no fan finishes in the top three, the highest scoring fan will win $100,000. Confirmed competitors include Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Tiffany Haddish, Druski, Liv Morgan, and Logan Paul.

From Fanatics NYC after the event, announcing the airing of the special program on ESPN:

Today, ESPN, Fanatics and OBB Pictures released the highly anticipated trailer for Fanatics Fest: All Access, an hour-long special airing on July 7 on ESPN and ESPN+, which goes behind-the-scenes of this summer’s most talked about sports, entertainment and culture event. From June 20-22, Fanatics Fest drove more than 125,000 fans to the Javits Center in New York City, captivating all in attendance and taking over social feeds throughout the three-day event.

The second edition of Fanatics Fest featured more than 300 athletes and celebrities interacting with fans and creating surprise-and-delight moments across all three days. The special, hosted by WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella, will take viewers behind-the-scenes of the action-packed event, and focuses on the experience of several athletes and individual fans in attendance, including Victor Wembanyama, Jordan Chiles and Cody Rhodes.

The special also highlights buzz-worthy, viral moments including; Kevin Durant being traded to the Rockets while live on stage during a panel; Tom Brady making a dream come true for a Make-A-Wish recipient; Joey Chestnut taking on Druski, Livvy Dunne, DJ Khaled and Michael Rubin in a Raising Canes chicken finger eating contest; a surprise Travis Scott concert to launch the new Oakley Meta Glasses; Rhea Ripley and Paul “Triple H” Levesque surprising fans during their patented walkouts; The Rizzler getting mobbed by fans; and many more.

The special takes viewers to the front row of the Fanatics Games, an inaugural event inside of the larger Fanatics Fest where 50 athletes, celebrities and influencers competed against 50 fans for $2 million in prizes. While six of the top ten scores came from fans, Tom Brady took first place, winning $1 million, then gifting $5,000 to every fan participant and donating $750K to charity. MMA star Justin Gaethje finished second, winning a 2025 Ferrari 296 GTB. In third was Philadelphia teacher Matt Dennish, who won a LeBron James trading card worth over $250K, which was then bought by Brady.

Fanatics Fest: All Access is executive produced by OBB’s Michael D. Ratner, Scott Ratner, Kfir Goldberg and Simone Spira, with Andria Parides serving as executive producer and showrunner, and Manny Gutierrez directing.

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From the final day of the Fanatics event, Sunday:

• During the “Global Game Changers” panel which saw Kevin Durant, Michael Rubin, Paris Saint-Germain owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and Taylor Rooks headline The Theater, news broke mid-panel of KD’s Houston Rockets trade. During the interview, alerts began popping up on the audiences’ phones, prompting them to yell that Durant had been traded to Houston. Durant didn’t confirm the trade, but then when asked what song he likes to play on game day, he replied with “Raining in Houston” by Drake.
• Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford came face-to-face for the first time in the United States ahead of their highly anticipated September showdown, which will stream live on Netflix. The clash between Álvarez – the undisputed super middleweight champion from Mexico – and Crawford, the former undisputed welterweight and light welterweight champion, electrified the atmosphere. Tensions flared during the face-off, with UFC CEO Dana White present, before being separated amid a roaring crowd of boxing fans.
• JAY-Z’s iconic The 40/40 Club in partnership with Fanatics Sportsbook lounge experience welcomed guests including: Kevin Durant, French Montana, Cam Jordan, Tiffany Haddish, Rich Kleiman, Sauce Gardner, KSI, Midge Purce, Livvy Dunne, Kristin Juszczyk, Jalen Rose, Darrelle Revis, Trey Murphy, Justin Gaethje, Taylor Rooks, Ryan Clark and more. Additionally, the stars made made their picks for tonight’s NBA Finals.
• Fanatics Sportsbook and Casino had a big weekend giving away $500K in FanCash to customers who played our life-sized Spin to Win and FanCash Drop games.
• Cooper DeJean, Brian Dawkins, Nick Foles, Dawn Staley, Ryan Clark, and Brandon Graham came together for “The Champs Are Here” panel at The Theater, where they shared their insights and passion for all things Philly sports fandom.

From the sold out Day 2 of Fanatics Fest.  The mentioned photos and videos can be found in the video above:

• GOAT moment! JAY-Z and LeBron James shared a legendary moment at Fanatics Fest NYC, swapping autographed basketball jerseys with personal messages for each other inside the iconic The 40/40 Club—an unforgettable exchange between two of the greatest to ever do it.
• During Trade Night at Fanatics Fest NYC, Jayden Daniels, Michael Rubin and Josh Harris joined a a room full of thousands of collectors participating in 1-on-1 trades.  During the event, Rubin and Harris challenged the crowd to produce the most valuable Jayden Daniels card they could find while compelling nominations poured in from across the room. Josh Harris ended up cutting a deal with one fan for $500,000 and a signed Jayden Daniels jersey to purchase the card with intent to display it at Northwest Stadium this season.
• Roaring ovations were heard throughout the WWE SummerSlam Kickoff event, with fans chanting the entrance themes for Superstars such as Randy Orton, Jey Uso, Rhea Ripley, Tiffany Stratton, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins and CM Punk.  At one point a member of the audience held up a baby dressed exactly like CM Punk and the crowd began chanting, dubbing the child “Baby Punk”.  Triple H closed out the session by congratulating fans for coming out in support of the WWE and Fanatics Fest and remarking on how fandom bleeds across sports, citing Tom Brady’s CM Punk entrance and Rob Gronkowski’s rendition of the DX chop during their WWE walkouts.
• Checkmate! Victor Wembanyama took Fanatics Fest NYC by storm—one chessboard at a time. The NBA superstar faced off against 100 fans in a jaw-dropping chess tournament,  with every surprise move and clutch checkmate, Wemby turned the room electric, proving he’s not just a basketball star—he’s a king of chess, too.
• Fanatics Games continued electric fashion as fans swarmed around popular streamer IShowSpeed, who wowed the crowd with a backflip during his WWE Entrance. IShowSpeed’s livestream drew over 40 million viewers as he went through the gauntlet of Fanatics Games.
• A special taping of The Shop Live from Fanatics Fest with Tom Brady, Kai Cenat, and Victor Wembanyama hosted by Lebron James, Paul Rivera, and Maverick Carter. Brady said fans are “witnessing the greatest ever” when referring to James for all the intensity that he has endured throughout his career and how he’s always done things the right way while continuing to deliver.
• NFL WRs Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, and CeeDee Lamb interrupted their hilarious panel with Keegan-Michael Key to shout out the sign language interpreter for keeping up with the discussion.  They then proceeded to test his skills and observe how he’d react to them reciting lyrics from Migos’ “Hannah Montana” and naming characters from the iconic Key & Peele football names sketch like: ‘JackMerius Tacktheritrix.’
• NBA superstar James Harden and influencer Druski competed in Fanatics Games—with the former choosing to rev up the crowd as “Hulk Harden” during his WWE walkout.  Afterwards, the dynamic duo opened up packs of cards together and threw cards into the crowd of excited fans who swarmed the area.
• During the Style in Motion fashion panel: Tiffany Haddish, Druski, Joe Burrow, James Harden, Jordan Chiles, Seth Rollins and Odell Beckham Jr.  invited the audience to play “Drip or Slip” with them while rating the fashion looks from some of today’s top athletes.
• Fans were out in full force for Fanatics Fest autograph sessions: a Dallas Cowboys fan had Emmett Smith autograph a photograph of her triplets named “Emmett, Michael, and Troy.” WWE Superstar, The Undertaker, was asked to sign a 40-pound tombstone.  Tyreek Hill led the crowd in singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to a twelve-year-old fan. Even celebrities got in on the action—with DJ Khaled asking Dan Marino to sign the musician’s ultra-rare Miami Dolphins themed Jordan 11s.

From Day One of Fanatics Fest, the videos and photos mentioned can be found in the video above:

• NFL legend Tom Brady made a young fan’s dream come true during a heartfelt meet and greet with 12-year-old Axton Robertson, organized through Fanatics’ ongoing partnership with Make-A-Wish. Axton, along with two other Make-A-Wish recipients, kicked off the day with an exclusive private shopping experience. While Axton’s wish was to meet Brady, one of the other children had the chance to meet music superstar Travis Scott, and the third enjoyed a memorable experience at Fanatics Fest.
• A media preview at the “Museum of Greatness” which featured over $200 million worth of the rarest and most legendary trading cards and memorabilia ever assembled — from the likes of Brady, Ohtani, Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Messi, Ruth, Mantle, and more.
• At the “Only In New York: 27 Rings” panel, Yankees legends Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte took the stage alongside special guest Spike Lee for an unforgettable celebration of baseball greatness. The crowd erupted into a standing ovation as Derek Jeter made his triumphant return to his hometown while all panelists praised longtime teammate Bernie Williams, highlighting his profound impact on the legacy and championships of the New York Yankees.
• Tom Brady arrived in his green room to find 20 Gronk lookalikes, and was tasked to find the real Gronk, as seen on Michael Rubin’s Instagram HERE.
• A one-of-a-kind recreation of the legendary The 40/40 Club in partnership with Fanatics Sportsbook debuted for the second year in a row at the center of Fanatics Fest NYC.
• Meta and Oakley, in addition Michael Rubin, Tom Brady, and Travis Scott, unveiled their latest innovation—the AI-powered Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses—during an exclusive panel at The Theater. The event concluded on a high note with a surprise performance by Travis Scott, who energized the crowd with a set of his biggest hits.
• At the Raising Cane’s activation, an all-star lineup of athletes and celebrities—including legendary competitive eater Joey Chestnut—went head-to-head in a high-energy chicken finger eating contest. Chestnut was joined by Livvy Dunne, DJ Khaled, Druski, and Michael Rubin, turning the event into a spectacle of fun and fandom. Meanwhile, Adin Ross hilariously opted out of the action—hiding under the table as the chaos unfolded above.
• Tom Brady leads the Fanatics Games, with fan Matt Dennish and Eli Manning rounding out the top 3.  During Fanatics Games, Tom Brady ripped Eli Manning’s jersey in half during the WWE Walkout Challenge, with Manning jumping on Brady’s back immediately after. Meanwhile, Rob Gronkowski showed off his secret hockey skills, while Bryce Young and CJ Stroud competed in NBA’s Around the World challenge.
• Fanatics Sportsbook and Casino debuted a 21+ bar and lounge experience at Fanatics Fest NYC—offering guests an immersive environment where sports meet chance and rewards. One lucky fan won $10,000 in FanCash playing the Spin to Win wheel.
• To wrap up the day, the “New York vs. the World” panelists – comprised of Suni Lee, Malik Nabers, Russell Wilson, Allan Houston, Stephon Marbury and Vince Carter – were offered the chance to boo the crowd after host Noah Eagle quipped about how it must be tough to be a professional athlete in New York.