Hard Beverages' logo was featured on the backdrop used during some Browns media sessions last seasonGETTY IMAGES
The Browns have taken Brooklyn-based Hard Beverages to court for "nonpayment of a sponsorship fee" of more than $500,000, according to Jay Miller of CRAIN'S CLEVELAND BUSINESS. The brand was "on display last year at the team's games at FirstEnergy Stadium and at its training facility." However, the Browns earlier this month "filed suit in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas to enforce an arbitration award it won" against the soft drink firm for "failing to pay a $525,000 fee for the first year of a five-year sponsorship of the team and its events." According to the sponsorship agreement, the Hard Beverages logo "would be displayed in a variety of situations, including being on the backdrop used during player or coach interviews on the practice fields or other locations," and its products "would be displayed on-set during team-sponsored television broadcasts and its noncaffeinated beverages would also be available for sale within the stadium." Former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Richard Markus "awarded the team $525,000 plus interest, a total of $587,050.25" (CRAINSCLEVELAND.com, 6/23).
