Manchester United and England legend David Beckham has found himself embroiled in a legal battle against actor and entrepreneur Mark Wahlberg’s popular fitness company, F45.
Beckham’s company DB Ventures (DBVL) filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Central California in April 2023, in which he is demanding more than $14 million in damages.
The suit alleges F45 breached its contractual agreement with Beckham after he signed a promotional deal in 2020 to help grow the sportswear brand as its ambassador before the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange. .
“I have been a fan of the F45 franchise and trainer since my friend Mark Wahlberg introduced it to me. This partnership is an exciting business venture for me and I look forward to the F45 journey as the business continues to expand globally,” Beckham said at the presentation of the partnership in 2021.
According to his lawyers on behalf of DBVL, the footballer has helped a lot in the growth of the fitness chain, but they have not lived up to their end of the bargain since.
“F45 has benefited significantly from its relationship with Mr. Beckham, who has enhanced the public profile and credibility of F45,” DBVL’s lawyers said in a statement.
According to them, after the company went public at the end of 2021, its total valuation was nearly three times higher than it was since the deal with the former footballer was concluded.
According to him and his defenders, the sports brand has not fulfilled the obligation assumed in the agreement to pay him dividends – both in money and in capital compensation.
In 2022, however, business took a nosedive due to poor “fiscal management and macroeconomic pressures,” forcing F45 to withhold millions of dollars owed to the soccer legend for his work.
F45 was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in August 2023 after share prices fell below US$1.
According to Beckham’s lawsuit, the fitness chain failed to fulfill at least two promises to him – to transfer nearly one million shares to him on time, as well as to issue him additional shares worth $5 million.
The Englishman’s team claims the delay in the initial share package has cost him $9.3 million as the share price has fallen significantly.
That is why he demands that the court award him compensation of more than 14 million dollars.
F45’s lawyers are adamant that the former footballer’s accusations are baseless.
According to them, he has not fully fulfilled his obligations under the agreement and is now trying to “take advantage of his own wrongdoing” to unfairly benefit himself.
Wahlberg and the founders of F45 have filed a motion to dismiss Beckham’s lawsuit.
F45 is a fitness franchise that started in Australia in 2013. The company offers 45-minute group workouts with a professional trainer. They are held both live in the chain’s gyms and online for its customers, who can watch them at home.
The chain has more than 2,000 gyms in more than 50 countries, according to its website.
In 2019, Mark Wahlberg acquired a 36% stake in the company through his investment group, a deal valued at around $450 million, according to Bloomberg.
He is also a member of F45’s board of directors, and in 2023 was appointed the company’s chief brand officer.
His role in promoting the fitness franchise includes regular posts on F45’s Instagram account as well as in the company’s promotional videos.
This isn’t the first lawsuit against the fitness chain.
In 2017, former NFL star Tarell Owens sued F45 over an unpaid $700,000 deal with the brand.
He claims he was paid $15,000 for making a short promotional video, but he says he should have received a $25,000 bonus for opening each of the first 25 F45 gyms in the U.S., and $5,000 after that for the opening of each subsequent one.
At the time, a spokesperson for the company told TMZ that Owens’ claims were “complete fiction” and that he “started a fight with the wrong company.” It is not clear in the public domain how this case ended.
