Signing a soccer-star-turned-media-icon like David Beckham as an ambassador is one of the shrewdest ways of garnering attention for a brand, but the Brit is now suing Functional 45 Training, a label that is partially owned by Mark Wahlberg, claiming that he was “duped” into signing an endorsement agreement. M&F has the info.
David “Golden Balls” Beckham is in demand. The footballing legend reportedly signed a controversial $150m deal with Qatar to promote the country during the World Cup, and has also fronted campaigns for Adidas, Armani, and Haig, to name but few, but a deal with Functional 45 Training has gone belly-up because Beckham says that the company failed to live up to its agreements. The ballers’ own company, DB Ventures Ltd, says that F45 — 36% owned by Wahlberg —never honored its obligations. The lawsuit alleges that F45 “duped” Beckham into inking a contract, claiming that he never received the $10 million promised to partner with the gym label. The complaint also lists F45 founders Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch. In response, F45 have objected to the case, even going to far as to call it “fraudulent,” but a judge has ruled that the lawsuit will go on.
Courtesy of F45 / M+F Magazine
What is the furore around Functional 45?
48-year-old Beckham had originally agreed to become the global ambassador for F45, promoting it’s chain of fitness spaces that are located in more than 60 countries around the world, but while the Brit appeared in social media posts for F45, those have now been deleted in the midst of the storm. In 2017, NFL star Terrell Owens also filed a similar lawsuit, claiming that $700,000 was owed to celebrated the wide receiver. Former golfer Greg Norman is another athlete that has raised a complaint with the company. Once valued at $1.4 billion, the brand was thought to have lost more than $370 million in value from 2021 – 2023. Addressing the barny with Beckham, lawyers for F45 wrote: “The 209-page, 610-paragraph SAC (complaint) tries to make up with length what it lacks in merit.”
As the company gears up for “Wahlberg Week,” with a free week at its gyms beginning May 6th, here’s hoping that all parties involved are soon able to spend less time on legal admin and more time being physically active very soon.
