Overview
Plaintiff Herbert Adderley alleges that the GLAs signed by himself and certain other retired NFL players promised an equal share of an escrow fund derived from revenues PLAYERS INC received from third-party licensees. Plaintiff Adderley further alleges that the Defendants executed several licensing agreements from which the GLA Class should have been compensated. Plaintiff Adderley believes that the Defendants’ failure to compensate the GLA Class is both a breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. Plaintiff Adderley also believes that Defendants’ failure to adequately represent those that signed GLAs is a further breach of fiduciary duty. More specifically, Plaintiff Adderley believes that the Defendants have repeatedly breached their fiduciary duties to Adderley and the GLA Class by (i) failing to accurately report group licensing revenues to members of the GLA Class; (ii) failing to distribute revenues to the members of the GLA Class that should have been distributed and were owed to them; (iii) misappropriating funds that should have been paid to Adderley and the GLA Class; and (iv) placing themselves in a position of conflict of interest and acting adversely to the interest of retired NFL players who signed a GLA.
The NFLPA and Players Inc ("the Defendants") deny all claims against them. The NFLPA and Players Inc contend that (1) Adderley and the GLA Class received all money generated from the licensing of their retired player group licensing rights; and (2) all of the money that Adderley and the GLA Class are claiming in this action is money that was paid in exchange for the group licensing rights of active - not retired - players. Defendants contend that neither Adderley nor any GLA Class member has a viable legal claim for money generated by the group licensing rights of other persons. The NFLPA and Players Inc further deny that they breached fiduciary obligations, if any, to Adderley or any GLA Class member.
The Court has not yet determined whether Plaintiff Adderley’s or the Defendants’ contentions are correct.
For further details, please consult the Notice.
The Court has granted the plaintiffs’ motion that this lawsuit may be maintained by representative Plaintiff Adderley on behalf of the following class:
All retired NFL players who executed a group licensing authorization form ("GLA") with the NFLPA that was in effect at any time between February 14, 2003 and February 14, 2007 and which contains the following language: "[T]he moneys generated by such licensing of retired player group rights will be divided between the player and an escrow account for all eligible NFLPA members who have signed a group licensing authorization form."
Your Right Not to Participate in This Lawsuit (Right to Opt Out)
The deadline to exclude yourself from the class was August 15, 2008. For further details on exclusion procedures, please consult the Notice.
| Date | Case-Related Event |
|---|---|
| August 15, 2008 [Expired] |
Request for Exclusion Deadline (postmarked) |