Two former NFL players who say they were stiffed by last year’s 40 Yards of Gold sprinting competition have won a default judgment against the organizers, after claiming they’re owed more than $30,000 each. Jacoby Ford and Jeff Badet’s action is at least the third lawsuit stemming from the event, which debuted in June '19 at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla. Organizers promised a high-profile tournament to crown pro football’s fastest 40-yard dash with a $2M prize purse, promising the winner $1M and all participants $25K as soon as they showed up. But players never received that money -- only worthless checks -- and it quickly became clear that other vendors were not being paid either.
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Legal action was slow to develop at first, in part because event co-founders Charles Stewart and Alijah Bradley repeatedly promised business partners and the media that payments would be made. This week, a judge made a default judgment against 40 Yards of Gold for failing to reply to the Ford/Badet suit. The players’ lawyers argue this was not merely a failed business venture -- that Bradley knew it was false when he told players it was profitable, solvent and able to pay in a timely fashion.
Last September, Dynamic Sports Owner Trevor Penick sued Forty Yards of Gold for $58,000 in fees for broadcast services he said were unpaid. In February, the defendants denied they owed the money. Also in February, Attorney Darren Heitner sued for $11,300 he says he’s owed. Both those cases remain open. 40 Yards of Gold drew less than 3,000 fans to BB&T Center, and was available for $40 on PPV, but purchase statistics were never published.
