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Fanatics makes bold, risky move in suing Marvin Harrison Jr.

Marvin Harrison Jr. made news over the weekend, both by not attending the NFLPA Rookie Premiere and by getting sued by Fanatics.

On Sunday, we analyzed the complaint, despite redactions that seem random and excessive. Here’s the next point to make.

It’s a bold an risky move by Fanatics. Very bold. Very risky.

Fanatics needs to be 100 percent sure that it’s 100 percent right. Lose this one, and good luck establishing and maintaining good relationships with other players.

Even if Fanatics wins, other companies that are competing with Fanatics will say, “Be careful doing business with Fanatics. They’ll sue you.”

The mere fact that the lawsuit was filed leads to a plausible conclusion that Fanatics believes with very high confidence that they are right, and that Harrison is wrong. The “Binding Term Sheet” that drives the case isn’t provided, however, making it impossible to assess whether all material terms are reduced to writing and signed.

Plenty of contracts start with a term sheet and end with a long-form written contract. There can be a contract before the long-form contract is signed, as long as the term sheet contains all material terms.