CardVault opened its 13th U.S. location on March 17. 80 Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn. Tom Brady was there for the grand opening.
This is the second New York location. It's also the 13th store CardVault has launched in under two years. Thirteen stores. Not pop-ups. Not temporary kiosks. Full retail locations with vault displays and event space.
That kind of expansion doesn't happen unless someone believes the collectibles retail market can support it.
What CardVault Is
CardVault is a sports card and memorabilia retail chain. Physical stores, not just online. Walk in, browse cases, buy graded cards, get your own cards graded on-site.
The model is built around the vault concept. Each location has a centerpiece vault displaying high-end collectibles. Grails on glass. The Brooklyn store is no different.
Brady acquired a 50% stake in CardVault in 2025. He's not just a celebrity investor with a press release and a handshake. He shows up. He was in Brooklyn for the grand opening. First 25 customers got a branded CardVault hat. An Eli Manning-signed mini helmet was given away during the event.
Eli Manning. In Brooklyn. At Tom Brady's store. The optics are not subtle.
The Athlete-to-Retail Pipeline
Brady isn't the first retired athlete to invest in collectibles infrastructure. He's part of a trend.
Athletes who grew up with trading cards are now building the platforms where those cards get bought and sold. Gary Vaynerchuk has been preaching this for years. Rob Gronkowski has a stake in multiple hobby ventures. The names keep stacking up.
The difference with CardVault is scale. Thirteen stores in two years is not a side project. It's a rollout.
What 13 Locations Means
Retail expansion at this pace signals confidence. Not cautious optimism. Actual capital commitment.
The collectibles market went through a correction in 2023-2024. The speculator wave from 2020-2021 evaporated. Prices on mid-tier cards dropped. Retail foot traffic slowed. A lot of shops that opened during the boom quietly closed when the flippers left.
CardVault is opening stores anyway. That means the data they're seeing says the market can sustain physical retail at scale. Revenue per location is working. Customer acquisition is working. The unit economics pencil out or they wouldn't be signing leases.
The Brooklyn Play
Brooklyn isn't a random choice. It's one of the densest collector markets in the country. Close to Manhattan. Strong disposable income. High foot traffic in Downtown Brooklyn.
80 Flatbush is blocks from Barclays Center. The Nets play there. College basketball tournaments get hosted there. You're pulling from Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Jersey all at once. If you're going to plant a 13th store, that's where you do it.
Retail vs. Online
CardVault's bet is that collectors still want to see cards in person. Touch the slabs. Look at corners under light. Talk to someone behind the counter who knows the difference between a Topps Chrome Refractor and a Prizm Silver.
That's the opposite of what most venture-backed collectibles platforms are doing. eBay, Goldin, Whatnot, and PWCC are all digital-first. CardVault is brick-and-mortar first.
Both models can work. But only one requires paying Brooklyn rent every month. CardVault is betting the physical experience is worth it.
The Takeaway
Thirteen stores in two years. Tom Brady at 50% ownership. A Brooklyn location steps from a major arena.
CardVault isn't testing the market. They're committing to it. And if the expansion continues at this pace, 13 won't be the final number.
