New Balance to Sign Runner Boris Berian Following Nike Contract Dispute
June 30 2016 - 2:30PM
Dow Jones News
New Balance Athletic Inc. is expected to announce Thursday that
it is signing U.S. Olympic hopeful Boris Berian to an endorsement
contract, according to a person familiar with the matter, less than
a week after rival Nike Inc. dropped its lawsuit against the
runner.
Terms of the contract weren't immediately known. Nike had
previously sponsored Mr. Berian in 2015, and the sportswear company
retained the right to match competing sponsorship offers during the
first half of this year.
In January, New Balance made a three-year $405,000 contract
offer to the runner, which Nike argued it had matched. Nike filed a
breach of contract lawsuit against Mr. Berian in May after the
runner competed in New Balance products.
The lawsuit broadened into a wider dispute within the sportswear
world, with rival companies Brooks Running Co. and Oiselle Running
Inc., as well as New Balance—which wasn't a party to Nike's
lawsuit—filing in support of Mr. Berian.
The 23-year-old world indoor champion in the 800 meters has said
he no longer wished to compete for Nike and that he favored New
Balance products, according to court filings. At issue in the case
was whether Nike's contract offer, which included clauses to reduce
Mr. Berian's pay if he failed to meet certain athletic standards,
matched that of New Balance, which didn't include the clauses.
Nike last week withdrew its lawsuit, saying it didn't want any
distractions for Mr. Berian ahead of the U.S. Olympic Trials, which
determine the American track and field delegation to the Summer
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Mr. Berian is expected to compete in
the trials in the first heat of the 800 meters beginning Friday in
Eugene, Ore.
Write to Sara Germano at sara.germano@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 30, 2016 14:15 ET (18:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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