Washington wide receiver Pierre Garon sued daily fantasy sports site FanDuel on Friday, alleging that the company “knowingly and improperly exploits” his popularity and performance to make money.
Garon filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of all NFL players in the U.S. District Court for Maryland, according to a release from his lawyers first reported by Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo.
The suit alleges that FanDuel uses the names, images and likenesses of Garon and other NFL players to make money without compensating them.
“FanDuel routinely uses the names and likenesses of some of these NFL players without authorization to promote FanDuel’s commercial enterprise, collecting huge revenues and entry fees,” the release argues.
“FanDuel has taken the liberty to engage in these actions without my consent and without proper licensing rights,” Garon said in an accompanying statement. “As a result of these activities, FanDuel daily fantasy contests have shown increasing revenues leading to large profits. Therefore, on behalf of myself as well as any other players who are being treated unjustly, I chose to file a complaint.”
In September, the NFL Players Association signed a licensing agreement with DraftKings, the largest daily fantasy site and FanDuel’s chief rival in the industry. The agreement allows DraftKings to use NFL players in its marketing and promotional campaigns.