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Josh Weinfuss, ESPN writer
TEMPE, Ariz. — Fanatics refiled its lawsuit against Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. late last week, expanding it to include allegations of fraud against his father, Marvin Harrison Sr.
In the revised complaint, which was filed Friday in New York State Supreme Court, Fanatics named Harrison Sr., a Pro Football Hall of Famer, as a party to the lawsuit, and alleges that he “aided and abetted Harrison Jr.’s fraud against Fanatics.”
The lawsuit filed by Fanatics against Harrison Jr. on May 18 alleges Harrison Jr.’s alleged breach of contract.
The complaint filed by Fanatics claims that the defendants in the case “deliberately misled Fanatics into believing that there was a binding contract between Harrison Jr., his company, and Fanatics, and that Harrison Jr. had signed that contract.”
The lawsuit also claims that “Harrison Sr. further led Fanatics to believe that Harrison Jr. had signed the binding term sheet.”
The new allegations stem from two affidavits, one from Harrison Jr. and one from Harrison Sr., filed July 31, that claimed it was Harrison Sr., not Harrison Jr., who signed the binding term sheet that is at the center of the lawsuit. Both affidavits were sworn to be true under penalty of perjury.
Fanatics revised its counts from four to six while replacing two initial counts. Fanatics claims it was led to believe it was negotiating the binding term sheet with Harrison Jr. through Harrison Sr., but that Harrison Jr. would be the one signing the term sheet. That belief was dismantled with the July affidavits from Harrison Jr. and Harrison Sr.
In the revised complaint, Fanatics claims that the signature on the binding term sheet “bears a striking resemblance” to Harrison Jr.’s signature on the W-9 form Harrison Jr. was required to provide for his company, The Official Harrison Collection, and on autographs sold on the company’s website.
In addition to the revised complaint, Fanatics also filed examples of Harrison Jr.’s signature from the term sheet, an autograph from his company’s website and his W-9 form, as well as his father’s signature. Fanatics claims that Harrison Jr., Harrison Sr. and The Official Harrison Collection “executed the binding term sheet to advance their own interests and to gain negotiating leverage with other licensees to realize even greater profits.”
New details were provided in the revised complaint, including that when Fanatics sent Harrison Sr. a copy of the binding term sheet in May 2023, Fanatics said it understood the agreement was between Harrison Jr. and Fanatics. The complaint claims Harrison Sr. never disputed that.
In his July 26 affidavit, Harrison Jr. said, “I never intended to be personally bound by the Binding Term Sheet and I am not personally bound by it.”
The revised complaint also claims that Harrison Jr., The Official Harrison Collection and Fanatics had three agreements “executed or contemplated”: an endorsement and licensing agreement, the binding term sheet and an amended and restated endorsement and licensing agreement.
Harrison Jr.’s affidavit from July 26, the third day of Cardinals training camp, focuses on Harrison Jr.’s statement that the deal with Fanatics was between his company and Fanatics, not between him and Fanatics.
“This is not an agreement between Fanatics and me,” Harrison Jr. said in the filing. “I was never asked to sign any document that would personally obligate me to do anything regarding the ‘binding term sheet.’”
Additionally, in mid-August, a letter was sent to the judge by Fanatics’ attorney stating that the two sides had agreed on a potential mediator. The court instructed the attorney, Robert Longtin, that the name of the mediator must be provided to him by September 6.
