The college sports collectibles market just got a massive influx of venture capital tech-energy.
On Thursday, June 18, 2026, Seven Seven Six, the venture capital firm founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, officially announced its acquisition of ONIT, a premier officially licensed collegiate trading card company. The company has quietly built an absolute powerhouse of a roster, printing cards for thousands of student-athletes across major programs like Michigan, UCLA, Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas.
Alongside the acquisition, former NASCAR and The Athletic executive Evan Parker is stepping in as ONIT’s new Chief Executive Officer. We caught up with Parker to discuss Ohanian’s vision for the company, the unique operational philosophy behind the products, and their massive retail expansion.
Bringing the Entire Roster to Store Shelves
While the massive established players in the hobby chase a rigid, top-heavy checklist of blue-chip prospects, ONIT is tackling collegiate sports with a completely different ethos.
“The traditional way of doing it is you get the Heisman candidate or the McDonald’s All-American,” Parker explained. “Our goal is to include the entire roster in these boxes and sets. You get the star quarterback, but you also get his long snapper. For some of these athletes, this might be the only trading card they ever get in their entire career. That’s what makes it special.”
That roster-wide inclusivity is a massive component of ONIT’s model, giving all student-athletes on a participating campus an opportunity to monetize their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights through industry-leading royalties.
“There’s a lot of responsibility to treat every single athlete like they are a star, because this could be the one and only,” Parker said. “It could be the thing that they cherish for the rest of their career to show their grandkids.”
Expanding the Hobby Frontier: Women’s and Emerging Sports
The acquisition fits perfectly into Seven Seven Six’s broader investment ecosystem, which has aggressively backed women’s and emerging sports properties like Angel City FC (NWSL), Los Angeles Volleyball (LOVB), and ATHLOS Track and Field. In the 2024-25 academic year, ONIT worked with more than 8,000 student-athletes across 212 teams, including more women’s sports student-athletes than all other trading card companies combined.
“ONIT understands something fundamental about fandom and collecting that others have missed: it’s about community,” Ohanian noted in the official release. “Our opportunity is to bring entirely new collectors into the space—not just serve the ones who already exist—by making collecting more accessible.”
By expanding heavily into sports like women’s gymnastics, volleyball and softball, ONIT is filling a massive historical vacuum on retail store shelves. It gives fans and alumnae a direct way to support their universities while offering young girls a chance to hold a physical trading card of an athlete in a sport they love.
Retail Expansion and Premium Craftsmanship
Despite its explosive 244% revenue growth over the last two calendar years, ONIT recognizes it faces an uphill climb against entrenched industry giants. However, Parker is quick to point out that the card craftsmanship speaks for itself.
“Every card that we produce is officially licensed, and all the autographs are on-card,” Parker said. “We have holographic elements and foil on the numbered cards that rival the quality of anyone in the market. If you get an on-card, licensed autograph of one of these athletes, there’s something very cool about that regardless of which company is producing it.”
Collectors won’t have to wait long to feel the product in hand. This month, ONIT is executing its first fully-mixed retail distribution partnership, launching 2026 ONIT Gravity Baseball at Walmart and Best Buy. The set showcases 100 of the nation’s premier college baseball players, including presumptive number-one MLB Draft pick Roch Cholowsky of UCLA, and marks the official debut of ONIT’s premium ‘ION’ optichrome printing technology.
Looking ahead to the 2026-27 academic year, ONIT’s production for fall sports is already locked in, with 31 college football team sets slated to drop in late August and up to 12 women’s volleyball team sets arriving in September.
The Executive Transition
With Parker moving into the full-time CEO seat at ONIT, collectors might naturally wonder about the direction of Mantel, the community platform he currently leads.
Rest assured, Mantel’s daily operations remain fully locked in. Because both companies are unified under the Seven Seven Six funding umbrella, Parker is staying heavily involved in Mantel’s strategic direction. To ensure the platform continues its upward trajectory, longtime advisor and former Action Network CEO Patrick Keane is stepping into an expanded leadership role, and Brent Montgomery’s Wheelhouse will increase their involvement in day-to-day operations. Flagship events, including the annual Mantel Hobby Awards, are already on schedule for later this winter.
For more information on ONIT and their products visit their website at onitathlete.com.
Disclosure: Mantel is funded in part by Seven Seven Six. Evan Parker serves as an executive leader across both the Mantel and ONIT corporate structures.
