Trading card outfit Panini America Inc. has been suing industry goliath Fanatics for antitrust violation for over a year. In a separate lawsuit, Fanatics is suing Arizona Cardinals rookie star Marvin Harrison, Jr. and his father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr., for breach of contract.
Now, Panini contends Fanatics is trying to link the cases.
It’s a battle, or battles, that involves one of the most dominant–and controversial–companies in sports with Fanatics and a rare case of an NFL rookie breaking with the industry powers that be.
Panini alleges the link between the cases comes from Fanatics subpoenaing Panini in the Harrison case. Fanatics is trying to prove, in part, that Panini held talks with Harrison Jr. to encourage him to break the trading card agreement he allegedly signed with that company while at Ohio State.
“Fanatics’s request is especially improper because it seeks to end-run discovery in other hard-fought litigation between Fanatics and Panini pending elsewhere,” Panini wrote the judge in the Harrison case. “Fanatics’s wrongful efforts to cause star rookies – such as Harrison Jr. – not to deal with Panini is an issue in the antitrust lawsuit between Panini and Fanatics that is pending before Chief Judge Swain in the Southern District of NewYork. Discovery has not yet begun in that case. It is improper for Fanatics to use a third-party subpoena in this litigation to seek discovery related to those claims that it is not currently able to obtain in the antitrust lawsuit itself.”
In other words, Panini alleges Fanatics is using the coincidence of their suing Harrison and the case’s quicker schedule to dig up information to use in the antitrust lawsuit.
In court filings earlier this week in the Harrison lawsuit, Fanatics complained Panini had been unresponsive to requests for documents that mention the wide receiver. The industry colossus–which has dominant positions in sports apparel, trading cards, memorabilia and to a lesser extent in betting– is asking the judge to order Panini to comply with the requests.
But Panini, in its retort to the judge, alleged it was subpoenaed even before the Harrisons, which, if true, would be quite unusual as it would be a plaintiff seeking information from a third party before the defendant.
“Panini agreed to produce, and has produced, any communications with Panini…that bear on whether defendants had an enforceable contract with Fanatics or breached any confidentiality obligations in communications with Panini,” the judge wrote. “Ultimately, Panini had only three such responsive documents to produce, which is a testament to Panini’s limited involvement in the circumstances underlying this matter, not Panini’s unwillingness to produce responsive documents. Indeed, it is our understanding that Panini, as a non-party, produced documents before any named party in the case produced a single document.”
Fanatics alleges that Harrison is not complying with the terms of his agreement, which requires him to sign cards and game jerseys. The Harrisons contend there is no signed deal with the player. The dustup has spilled over to the NFLPA, which is not allowing a Harrison Jr. jersey for sale because Fanatics is the apparel provider.
Ironically, Fanatics currently can’t even sell NFL player trading cards, at least ones with players in their team uniforms. The NFLPA deal with Panini expires in 2026 when Fanatics takes over. The union tried to end the Panini deal early, but an arbitrator blocked that move.
It is quite rare for a major sports industry company to sue a player, as it could impede future negotiations with other athletes. Fanatics has such a dominant position, though, that that is likely not a concern.
Indeed, in an amended complaint last month that added the senior Harrison as a defendant, Fanatics accuses the father-son duo of deliberately causing confusion over who signed the agreement (the Harrisons now say it was Sr.).
“The signature on the Binding Term Sheet bears a striking resemblance to Harrison Jr.’s signature,” Fanatics wrote. “On information and belief, and assuming Harrison Sr.’s affirmation is truthful, Harrison Sr. intentionally signed the Binding Term Sheet in such a manner in order to lead Fanatics to reasonably believe that Harrison Jr. was the true signatory when in fact he was not. At the same time, and further evidencing Defendants’ deceit, Harrison Jr. has revealed that he never intended to be personally bound by the Binding Term Sheet, even though it is for the services and rights of Marvin Harrison Jr.
“Defendants’ misconduct is now clear: Defendants knowingly induced Fanatics to enter into the Binding Term Sheet, never intending to perform; mimicked Harrison Jr.’s signature to mislead Fanatics into believing Harrison Jr. had signed for his company; and abused the corporate form in a fraudulent attempt to shield themselves (and the company) from any liability in the process.”
Marvin Harrison Jr. has deceptive moves to get open on the field. Fanatics charges he does so off the field as well. And its animus with Panini is now woven into the beef.
As another great wide receiver once said, “Get your popcorn.”