Australian Olympic Gold Medalist Cathy Freeman says
that she was "naive and inexperienced" when she agreed to a
four-year, A$1M (US$526,000) marketing deal with Nike,
according to Jacquelin Magnay of the Melbourne AGE, who
writes that Freeman "ended up netting" only A$5,000
(US$2,600) a year plus some licensing payments from the
deal. The statement stems from a court case where Freeman's
former manager and partner Nick Bideau and financial adviser
Peter Jess are suing her for breach of a management
contract. Freeman blames the two for the poor return on her
Nike deal, which Bideau and Jess negotiated on behalf of the
Melbourne Int'l Track Club (MITC). Freeman left MITC in
May, leading to the lawsuit. Freeman claims that MITC was
"unjustly enriched" by the Nike agreement, and filed
documents stating she was at a "special disability" because
Bideau and Jess were "aware of her lack of business
experience" at the time the Nike deal was signed. She is
demanding damages from MITC for promoting and marketing her
name, and claims the management deal is void. Freeman also
claims that Nike agreed to pay A$1M to MITC for the
"marketing and promotional services of her and other
athletes, but that most of that sum was for" her services.
The case is continuing (Melbourne AGE, 11/30).
