Why David Beckham is suing Mark Wahlberg’s fitness company

The football icon has sued F45 Training, the fitness company co-owned by the actor, claiming it is owed millions of dollars over an endorsement deal.

According to court filings, Beckham signed a five-year deal to become the brand ambassador of the F45 in 2020. The company said it will pay Beckham $1.5 million a year, the filing said, in addition to shares vesting six months and 12 months after the company goes public.

In court filings, Beckham’s management business said F45 did not pay him “substantial cash and equity compensation” promised for his endorsement, even after its IPO in July 2021. It claims that F45 failed to fulfill the following promises: to transfer approximately 1 million shares to Beckham within the stipulated time period, and to issue additional shares worth $5 million.

Beckham claimed he received the initial shares eight months later than promised – by then, F45’s stock had declined, costing him $9.3 million, he said. inter miami The co-owner sued the fitness chain in May 2023, claiming he is entitled to more than $14 million in damages.

F45 initially sought to dismiss the lawsuit, but a judge rejected the motion in September 2023, According To fox Business, F45’s lawyers denied Beckham’s allegations in court filings. The company said the former football player did not fulfill his contractual obligations and had “unclean hands”.

On F45’s social media accounts, it’s business as usual. The company is currently promoting “Wahlberg Week”, a free-trial week of specially created workouts. ted star.

from fit to flop

The F45 was first launched in Australia in 2011, and has since expanded to over 60 countries internationally, According On its website. F45—which stands for “functional” exercise for 45 minutes—combines elements of HIIT, circuit training, and functional training.

According to Beckham’s lawsuit, Wahlberg acquired a 36% stake in F45 through his investment group in 2019 and joined the company’s board the same year. The actor was named chief brand officer of F45 in 2023, and he regularly appears in promotional material as the face of the brand.

But the F45’s valuation fell just as quickly: It went public on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2021 with a valuation of $1.4 billion, but then a series of issues, following what Beckham calls “fiscal mismanagement and macroeconomic pressures” Did – and the company later revealed it faced a combined loss of $372 million in 2021 and 2022.

F45 was delisted from the stock exchange in August 2023 after it failed to file its 2022 financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission on time, therefore not being in compliance with NYSE rules. F45’s share price declined by more than 90% in 2023.

a messy history

Beckham is not the only former brand ambassador to have accused F45 of non-payment.

Beckham initially sued F45 in October 2022 along with former world No. 1 golfer Greg Norman, accusing F45 of breach of contract. They were later ordered by a judge to bring their cases separately, and Norman pursued no other cases.

In 2017, before Wahlberg teamed up with F45, former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens was the first professional athlete to file a lawsuit against the fitness company, claiming he was owed $700,000.

According to Owens’ lawsuit, he claims he agreed to appear in a promotional video for $15,000 — and got paid. But Owens also claimed that F45 had promised to pay him an additional $25,000 per gym for the first 25 gyms he opened, and an additional $5,000 for each opening thereafter.

F45 publicly denied the claims and said it would countersued Owens, but as of April 2024, it is unclear what happened to Owens’ lawsuit.

“We’re not a company that doesn’t pay our bills,” F45 co-CEO toldtmz those days.