Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. took to social media on Thursday evening to reveal that he won his case against Nike.
“Justice was served,” Beckham declared in an Instagram post which featured him with his motley crew of lawyers. His suit, filed against the sports apparel superpower in 2022, centered around allegations that Nike refused to pay Beckham a series of royalties from the five-year deal he inked with the company back in 2017. He was seeking $862,000, the total amount of royalties withheld.
Nike filed a countersuit, asking for anywhere from $7-$15 million after claiming Beckham violated contractual stipulations when sporting customized Nike footwear and gloves, according to Portland Business Journal’s Demi Lawrence.
In the end, a Multnomah County Circuit Court jury ruled in Nike’s favor, asserting that the corporation did not breach Beckham’s contract by withholding him of his royalties. Beckham too was cleared of all wrongdoing, with the jury finding that his decision to customize his footwear and gloves was not in breach of the deal he inked with Nike. Neither party is forced to pay damages toward the other.
“With this verdict, all of Mr. Beckham’s claims have been decided against him without any monetary award,” Nike wrote in a statement released on Thursday night. “The decision confirmed that Nike complied with its commitments. Nike is grateful to the jury and the Court for their careful attention to this case.”
Here’s what you need to know.
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Beckham and Nike’s tiff began in earnest in 2017 when Beckham, reaching the end of his three-year brand partnership deal with the Swoosh, began negotiations with adidas on a five-year, $47 million offer, according to reports.
Nike was granted first right of refusal on Beckham’s new contract. Eventually, the two parties agreed on a five-year extension.
In his closing argument, Beckham’s counsel, Chad Colton of Markowitz Herbold, claimed that Nike had no issue with Beckham altering his adorning his apparel in decadence until it came time to renew his deal.
He told the jury that Nike “manufactured glove penalties to use as leverage” to persuade Beckham to re-sign, promising to pay him his withheld royalties if he were to agree to new terms with the footwear and apparel titan. Colton also maintained that Nike never alerted Beckham of its belief that his customized garments were in violation of his contract.
Nike protested such claims, presenting several examples of Beckham adding modifications to his gloves — some of which even covered Nike’s logo.
Nike’s counsel also claimed that the company reached out to the superstar wideout on several occasions to ensure his glove customizations still showed off the Nike logo. The violations continued, nevertheless.
In its countersuit, Nike also alleged that Beckham violated his contractual agreement by revealing the terms of his Nike deal to the press.
Both sides can appeal.
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