Free agency in baseball is usually a monied game of chess that’s all about improving a team’s lineup or pitching staff, but for the Philadelphia Phillies it’s become a battle to retain the team’s mascot.
The Phillies are now suing the New York company that created the Phanatic mascot to prevent the green furry from demanding more money.
Free agency in baseball is usually a monied game of chess that’s all about improving a team’s lineup or pitching staff, but for the Philadelphia Phillies it’s become a battle to retain the team’s mascot.
The Phillies are now suing the New York company that created the Phanatic mascot to prevent the green furry from demanding more money.
In a complaint filed Friday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the Phillies alleged Harrison/Erickson threatened to terminate the Phillies’ rights to the mascot next year, and "make the Phanatic a free agent" unless the team renegotiated its 1984 agreement to acquire the mascot's rights.
The Phillies are asking a judge to affirm their rights and are suing H/E for “unjust enrichment and breach of good faith,” according to ABC News.
The Phillies contracted with H/E in 1978 to develop the Phanatic for $3,900, including expenses, which amounted to $2,000. The Phillies reached an agreement to cover promotional items and paid H/E $100,000 in royalties, only to be sued by the company in 1979. As part of the settlement later that year, the Phillies said they made a $115,000 one-time payment and agreed to pay $5,000 annually, increasing by $1,000 per year.
According to the Phillies, the team reached an agreement with H/E in 1984 to buy all rights to the "artistic sculpture known as the 'Phillie Phanatic'" for $215,000.
According to ABC News, Harrison/Erickson lawyers sent a letter to the Phillies on June 1 last year claiming H/E had the right to terminate the 1984 agreement and saying absent a new deal the Phillies would not be able to use the Phanatic after June 15, 2020.
