Eric Boggs
Fanatics has filed a lawsuit against Marvin Harrison Jr., a former Ohio State wide receiver, claiming he breached a contract he signed in May 2023.
On Saturday, ESPN and The Athletic got hold of Fanatics’ 17-page lawsuit, filed in the New York Supreme Court. The company says Harrison didn’t fulfill his contractual duties and even claimed the contract didn’t exist.
Harrison’s relationship with Fanatics began after his impressive 2022 season, where he became a unanimous All-American. According to the lawsuit, Fanatics signed Harrison, along with other top athletes, to multi-year deals. In March 2023, Harrison agreed to a limited promotion and license agreement that was set to end in April 2024.
Details of Harrison’s obligations and the financial terms were not fully revealed, but a source told ESPN that Fanatics planned to pay Harrison $1 million to sign game-worn apparel and trading cards, along with other marketing tasks.
Fanatics’ lawsuit also names “The Official Harrison Collection LLC” as a defendant. Harrison uses this website to sell autographed photos, helmets, jerseys, and more. Recently, the website announced “Cardinals memorabilia coming soon” and claimed to be the only place to buy signed Harrison items. However, Fanatics says they paid Harrison in August and October 2023 to sell signed memorabilia for them, but he ignored or rejected their attempts to get him to do so, denying the agreement’s existence.
The Athletic reported that Harrison asked Fanatics to match or exceed competing offers from other trading card companies but refused to share the details of those offers with Fanatics. The company also accused Harrison or his representatives of sharing confidential information with ESPN to mislead the public.
Just before the 2024 NFL Draft, Marvin Harrison Sr. asked Fanatics for a copy of Harrison Jr.’s contract. When Fanatics provided it and requested a conversation, Harrison Sr. said there was no deal. Fanatics’ attempts to resolve the issue failed.
Fanatics hopes the lawsuit will force Harrison Jr. to meet his obligations and is seeking damages estimated to be in the millions of dollars.
Additionally, Harrison has not yet signed the NFL Players Association’s group licensing agreement, which would allow the union to market his name, image, and likeness to 85 companies.
