dkny64 wrote:
Question to the lawyers on the board: If a group of stakeholders unhappy with USATF - athletes, agents, shoe/apparel companies other than Nike - managed to get USATF decertified, would that void Nike's right to put their uniforms on all national team members under a new national organization, or would that right survive?
I guess it depends on how the contract is written, but I'm figuring there are some lawyers on the board who know what the boilerplate language probably looks like + how courts typically handle situations like this.
As a contractual matter, the only way the agreement would survive decertification is if the new governing body was in some way created out of the ashes of USATF such that it could be argued that it would fit into the usual "successors, assigns, agents, attorneys" language that you see at the beginning of most every contract ("This agreement is between Nike, its successors, assigns etc. and USATF, its successors, assigns, etc."). But if the new governing body was born completely free and clear of USATF, then it would be just about impossible for Nike to have a contractual argument.
The reality is that Nike has so much money that they can out bid by a factor of 100 all the other shoe companies, save and except Adidas. But Adidas is not that interested in the US market. So, getting rid of USATF would not mean the end of Nike influence.