Marvin Harrison Jr.’s NFL career is off to a rocky start.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Fanatics has filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Cardinals wide receiver for alleged breach of contract.
The sports apparel company says Harrison signed a $1 million deal that dates back to May 2023, while Harrison’s team “says it has no contract,” according to Schefter.
ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reported that Harrison had signed a deal worth more than $1 million with Fantics prior to the 2023 season when MHJ was at Ohio State.
According to Weinfuss, Harrison’s alleged deal with Fanatics is for “autographs, signed trading cards, game-worn apparel and other marketing opportunities.”
The lawsuit, in which Fanatics is seeking damages the company says are estimated to be worth “millions of dollars,” was filed Saturday with the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
Fanatics claims this is the first time they’ve sued an athlete while also claiming that the lawsuit first made a non-exclusive agreement with Harrison in April 2023 before entering into a “fully binding and enforceable contract in May of 2023.
The lawsuit alleges that Harrison “has recently and publicly asserted that his binding agreement with Fanatics does not exist.”
Fanatics cited Harrison’s repost of a clip from The Pat McAfee Show, in which McAfee reported that a “source inside the Marvin Harrison Jr. camp” said Harrison had rejected a trading card deal with Fanatics while a student-athlete at Ohio State.
The lawsuit also alleged that Harrison “publicly disclosed confidential information” regarding the deal to ESPN. Here’s the clip:
Fanatics further claimed that Harrison has since “refused to fulfill any of his obligations” under the deal, and says the player is in “demand” of higher compensation.
Weinfuss added to his report that Harrison has not yet signed a licensing agreement with the NFL Players’ Association because of a desire to re-negotiate the Fanatics deal.
Harrison was selected by the Cardinals with the No. 4 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Because he has not signed the NFLPA agreement, his jersey has not yet been available for sale from official outlets like the NFL Shop, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
