CardVault by Tom Brady: From Pandemic Pivot to Hobby Powerhouse

When the pandemic hit, Boston’s nightlife went dark. Clubs closed, restaurants went quiet, and the energy that fueled Big Night Entertainment, the group behind some of the city’s most popular venues, came to a halt. But for the team that specialized in creating energy, standing still wasn’t an option.

“All of our venues were shut down,” recalls CardVault co-founder Tim Bonito. “But none of us wanted to stop working—we wanted to build something that brought people together again around our shared passion for sports. For us, that was CardVault.”

From a Walk on the Beach to a National Brand

While the idea for CardVault took shape during the early days of the pandemic, the spark for the business happened on a beach in Nantucket. That’s where Bonito’s business partner Randy Greenstein ran into friend and longtime collector Chris Costa—a lifelong hobbyist who’d recently turned his passion for cards into a full-blown side hustle.

The CardVault team opening the store at Patriot Place. | CardVault by Tom Brady

“I’ve been collecting since I was five,” Costa says. “I was the kid ripping packs in my mom’s backseat, trading hits for more packs, and organizing binders by players like Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez, Nomar, McGwire, Sosa. I never really stopped caring about cards.”

By the time the pandemic hit, Costa had become one of the more recognizable faces on the card show circuit. His energy, his dealer background, and his connection to Boston’s sports scene made him the perfect person to help turn the group’s next idea into something real.

Breaking with a Different Kind of Energy

CardVault started online, not in stores. Costa became the face of the company’s first livestreams—long before streaming breaks were mainstream.

“Our first streams were out of a conference room,” Costa laughs. “We blacked out the windows, brought in CO₂ cannons from the nightclubs, and even had my cousin dressed as a Ninja Turtle. Every time we pulled a big card, confetti would fly. It was nuts, but it showed people this hobby could be fun and loud and full of personality.”

Building the Brand Through Breaking

As CardVault’s live-stream presence exploded, another voice quickly became synonymous with the brand: Matt Varao, the company’s current lead breaker and host.

“Matt’s the face of what we do online,” Bonito said. “He’s brought this charisma and energy that makes people feel like they’re part of something bigger.”

A massive Messi pull from Topps Finest by the CardVault Breaks team. | Via @CardVaultBreaks on Instagram

Varao’s nightly streams combine fast-paced pulls with genuine storytelling and community shout-outs—part sportscast, part clubhouse. “We want every viewer to feel like they’re sitting at the table with us,” he said. “It’s not just about chasing a card; it’s about sharing that adrenaline rush with everyone watching.”

From Streams to Stadiums: Bringing the Hobby to Life

That momentum led to a bold next step: turning the online energy into a retail experience. Leveraging the team’s background in hospitality and event production, they opened their first CardVault store at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.

It was an instant hit. Sleek glass displays, graded cards, and live breaks streaming on huge screens gave the space a hybrid vibe—part museum, part clubhouse, part sports bar.

“We didn’t want to be just another place selling slabs,” Bonito says. “We wanted to make collecting social again, something people could experience, not just transact.”

Since then, CardVault has expanded to locations in TD Garden, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Wrigleyville, and most recently SoHo in New York City. Each store has its own look and local flavor, but the mission stays the same: authenticity, innovation, and community.

Tom Brady joins the CardVault team. | CardVault by Tom Brady

Tom Brady Joins the Huddle

Their biggest headline came in February 2025, when NFL legend Tom Brady took a 50% ownership stake in the company, transforming it into CardVault by Tom Brady and signaling a new era for the brand.

Brady, who’s been a collector since childhood, saw in CardVault something that mirrored his own career: passion, precision, and purpose. “Sports collectibles and cards have been part of my DNA since I was a kid,” Brady said. “This isn’t just about buying and selling cards; it’s about curating history, building community, and giving fans access to own great moments in sports.”

For Costa, the partnership still feels surreal. “I grew up a diehard Patriots and Brady fan,” he says. “To have him walk up to my mom at our SoHo opening and tell her how proud he is of what we’ve built, that was a full-circle moment.”

And the team is charging downfield, with new locations coming to the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Dallas, Sacramento, and two Bay Area sites in Palo Alto and San Francisco—just a short drive from where Brady grew up in San Mateo, California.

Flawless Fest and the eBay Live Era

CardVault Breaks recently brought its energy on their eBay Live debut with “Flawless Fest,” a four-day celebration of Panini’s ultra-premium Flawless line, that took place over the October 10–13th holiday weekend.

“The goal,” says Bonito, “is to keep pushing the envelope — to make breaking not just about opening boxes, but about storytelling, community, and shared moments. We want to elevate the experience.”

The Future of Collecting, Powered by Passion

From that walk on the beach to coast-to-coast expansion, CardVault’s story is one of creativity, risk-taking, and community.

“We made a point to tell the world that we were going to open a store a month because we wanted to show the world that we can execute at a really high level and maintain a really amazing experience for our customers,” Costa said. “A year from now, I’ll be happy if we look back and we’ve done exactly what we said we’d do—and if every store still feels special.”