It appears Fanatics' legal battle with Marvin Harrison Jr., and his father, NFL legend Marvin Harrison Sr., will spill over into the NFL regular season.
Fanatics has refiled its lawsuit against Harrisons, adding allegations of common law fraud and negligent representation, according to court documents reviewed by cllct.
The amending of the suit comes after Harrison Sr. told the court he was the one who signed the three-year term sheet for autographs and appearances with Fanatics as a representative of his son's company, The Official Harrison Collection.
Harrison Jr., represented by the same lawyer, contends his father signed the agreement, but his father signing it doesn't guarantee that services promised by his company are necessarily connected to the Arizona Cardinals rookie. Harrison Jr. contended in his response that the Official Harrison Collection, founded right before he signed the Fanatics deal, performs other duties besides offering his promotional services.
Fanatics sued the Harrisons in May, after the two refused to comply with what it said was a binding term sheet to furnish autographs and promotional work. The term sheet was signed while Harrison was at Ohio State.
Fanatics said it paid the rookie receiver nearly $110,000 while working under the terms of the term sheet and waiting for a contract. The full contract was never papered, but Fanatics attorneys have insisted the term sheet stands in for a contract if a contract is not produced.
One interesting detail of the binding term sheet is that while Harrison Sr. said he signed it on behalf of his son's company, Fanatics believes the signature signed looks closer to the son's signature, suggesting either the father tried to emulate his son's signature or Harrison Jr. actually signed the deal.
Fanatics has added an exhibit to the case to show the court why it believes this to be the case. If the company can prove Harrison Jr. did indeed sign the agreement, he will have perjured himself.
After Harrison Jr. was drafted fourth overall by Arizona, the lawsuit alleged, he said he didn't have a deal with Fanatics. Harrison Jr. has been the first rookie in 25 years, not to sign the Group Licensing Agreement, which grants licensees the rights to put players on products, perhaps to put pressure on Fanatics to undo the deal. The Group Licensing Agreement, however, doesn't allow any licensees to make products.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.