Tom Brady Sues Over Use of Image in Firm's Fantasy Football Promos

[steeda]

Gee, Brady, looking for even more money?

Brady, 29, charges Yahoo! used his photo without authorization in a September 2006 Sports Illustrated ad and in banner ads on Yahoo! Sports pages. In the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court by a Brady management company, the three-time Super Bowl champion notes that fantasy football is a $4 billion industry and that the Yahoo! fantasy site is the Internet's largest, with 4.4 million users last year. Brady alleges that Yahoo!'s use of his image connotes a false endorsement and, as such, is seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages against the company.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1207061brady1.html

[Mike13]

Well he turned down a big contract and settled for a smaller one.
Maybe he regrets that.

[Alex44]

God man just make them take it down. Your a Pro Athlete dont go sue people for money.

Id say that if it was Ronnie Brown, Chambers, JT anyone.

[Muck]

It's not as simple as 'take it down'.

They used Brady to promote their business. They made money off of it. They didn't have the right to do that. People/companies pay for that right. Yahoo is not exempt.

That's my 'at the surface' take on it. I admittedly didn't look into the details. But if someone's profiting off your likeness without your permission, you have a right to seek compensation. Doesn't matter if they're a professional athlete or a Joe off the street. Models get paid for appearing on things. Why should Brady be any different??

Yahoo makes a lot of money off fantasy football.

[ih8brady]

Originally Posted by Muck

It's not as simple as 'take it down'.

They used Brady to promote their business. They made money off of it. They didn't have the right to do that. People/companies pay for that right. Yahoo is not exempt.

That's my 'at the surface' take on it. I admittedly didn't look into the details. But if someone's profiting off your likeness without your permission, you have a right to seek compensation. Doesn't matter if they're a professional athlete or a Joe off the street. Models get paid for appearing on things. Why should Brady be any different??

Yahoo makes a lot of money off fantasy football.

but is tom brady really a person?

[GreenMachine]

Originally Posted by Muck

It's not as simple as 'take it down'.

They used Brady to promote their business. They made money off of it. They didn't have the right to do that. People/companies pay for that right. Yahoo is not exempt.

That's my 'at the surface' take on it. I admittedly didn't look into the details. But if someone's profiting off your likeness without your permission, you have a right to seek compensation. Doesn't matter if they're a professional athlete or a Joe off the street. Models get paid for appearing on things. Why should Brady be any different??

Yahoo makes a lot of money off fantasy football.

That may be right...but Yahoo pays fees to the NFL and the NFLPA for the use of names and pics.

[muscle979]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

That may be right...but Yahoo pays fees to the NFL and the NFLPA for the use of names and pics.

Right, if they have permission from the NFLPA can't they post a pic of anybody? Or is the superstar Tom Brady above all of that?

[blantyr]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

That may be right...but Yahoo pays fees to the NFL and the NFLPA for the use of names and pics.

In one version of the story, it stated that Yahoo had modified the pictures to remove the team logos from the helmets of the players. (Brady isn't the only player whose picture is being used.) If true, this implies Yahoo knew full well they were not paying appropriate NFL / NFLPA fees.

I just went to the Yahoo Fantasy Football page to confirm this, but there seems to be no pictures of football players on the page at this time....

[Crisis]

I don't really care if he was right or wrong...

**** Tom Brady