Saturday, October 31, 2015

Pierre Garcon sues FanDuel for using his name and likeness for profit

Washington Redskins' Pierre Garçon sued the daily fantasy sports site FanDuel on Friday, alleging that the company "knowingly and improperly exploits" his name and performance for profit.


The wide receiver filed the class-action lawsuit against the billion-dollar fantasy sports site on behalf of all NFL players in the U.S. District Court for Maryland, charging that the site is improperly using the names and likenesses of NFL players for its own gain and not compensating the players.

"FanDuel routinely uses the names and likenesses of some of these NFL players without authorization to promote FanDuel's commercial enterprise, collecting huge revenues and entry fees," the release argues.

"FanDuel has taken the liberty to engage in these actions without my consent and without proper licensing rights," Garçon said in an accompanying statement. "As a result of these activities, FanDuel daily fantasy contests have shown increasing revenues leading to large profits. Therefore, on behalf of myself as well as any other players who are being treated unjustly, I chose to file a complaint."

In September, the NFL Players Association signed a licensing agreement with DraftKings, the largest daily fantasy site and FanDuel's chief rival in the industry. The agreement allows DraftKings to use NFL players in its marketing and promotional campaigns. 


This seems to be quite an audible for Garcon, who promoted FanDuel heavily on social media last year.

"Don’t forget! Enter my week 3 FANTASY league on Fanduel. $40K in prizes and a pair of free TIX to one entrant," he tweeted in September of 2014.

Garcon has played the last four years in Washington after starting his career with the Indianapolis Colts. The 29-year-old speedster had his best season in 2013, with 113 receptions for 1,346 yards.

He has a Bye Week.

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