re: Fanatics suing Marvin Harrison Jr. for breach of contract

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Harrison will probably win this battle.

I don’t think NIL deals in college can extend into their professional career. A multi-year deal signed in 2023 doesn’t sound legit.

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That depends on the individual state’s NIL law. Louisiana’s law includes a provision saying the contract can’t extend past college. I don’t know if Ohio’s law has that language. I did a quick scan and did not see it.

Also it sounds like they are saying he failed to meet his obligations while he was at Ohio State.

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The two sides began talking about a new deal in April 2023, and the negotiations were "heavily negotiated," according to the suit. Harrison, who does not have an agent, was represented by his father, Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison Sr. The two sides agreed to a binding term sheet on May 16, 2023, and it was finalized two days later.

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The suit states that on April 23, 2024, Marvin Harrison Sr. asked Fanatics for a copy of the binding term sheet for his son. After the elder Harrison received it, the suit said he told the company that the Harrisons do not have a deal with Fanatics.

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Not a lawyer, but it sounds like the argument might be centered on whether the term sheet was, in fact, binding. Hence the note about it being “heavily negotiated.”

My guess is that Harrison Jr. signed a term sheet but they never got the actual contract done. Harrison then gets larger offers from other companies and tells Fanatics he isn’t signing the contract unless they come up with more money. Compensation was probably well-defined in the term sheet, so Fanatics is saying he can’t walk away over money.

I could be wrong, but that’s my guess reading between the lines.