Marvin Harrison Jr. lawsuit: New details emerge for Fanatics' claim against WR's breach of $1,000,000 contract
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. isn't starting his NFL career the way he had imagined. The 21-year-old was hit with a $1 million lawsuit from the mega sports apparel company, Fanatics. In the lawsuit, Fanatics is alleging that the wide receiver breached a previous contract it had with him as an NIL deal while he was playing at Ohio State.
Pro Football Talk did a deep dive and emerged with new details about the lawsuit. It claims that Harrison Jr. signed an NIL deal with Fanatics in May 2023, which the company claims is "a fully binding and enforceable contract" and would allow it to sell his trading card and autographed items.
However, just before Marvin Harrison was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals, he and his father, former NFL wide receiver Marvin Harrison Sr., who is acting as his agent, claimed otherwise. They told Fanatics that they didn't have a contract and then told the company that he had offers from others in hopes of getting a more lucrative contract.
The wide receiver is selling signed memorabilia on his own website called "The Official Harrison Collection." Fanatics stated in the lawsuit that selling memorabilia on his website was also a breach of contract. Fans will now just have to wait and see how this impending litigation works out and where they will be able to find official memorabilia.
NFL fans still can't purchase Marvin Harrison Jr.'s Cardinals jersey
Marvin Harrison's conflict with Fanatics has also led to NFL fans being unable to purchase the fourth overall draft pick's Arizona Cardinals jersey. After being drafted, NFL rookies then sign a licensing deal with the NFL Player's Association.
Harrison was the lone rookie without a licensing agreement, which means that his jersey has yet to be sold to fans. Now, it appears that he didn't sign the licensing deal because of his ongoing issue with Fanatics.
Until an agreement can be made with Fanatics and he signs the NFLPA licensing agreement, no jerseys will be sold, and he won't be featured in NFL video games. The rookie wide receiver also didn't attend the NFLPA's Rookie Premiere weekend in Los Angeles this weekend.
Arizona Cardinals fans will just have to continue to wait to purchase the wide receiver's jersey; whether that is by the start of the 2024 NFL season remains to be seen.