Odell Beckham Jr. Is Suing Nike for Millions of Dollars - Here's Why

Odell Beckham Jr. is suing Nike.

The 30-year-old NFL superstar is filing a lawsuit against the company for millions of dollars.

The lawsuit paperwork was filed by his attorney, Daniel Davillier, and obtained by TMZ Sports.

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In the suit, Odell claims once his original Nike deal expired in 2017, he considered moving to Adidas, which offered him a contract. Nike exercised their right to match the Adidas deal, but he’s claiming the finer details didn’t match, and that it was structured to make it nearly impossible for him to trigger very valuable extensions of the deal.

The suit claims that around March of 2022, he was due a payment of around $2.6 million when the company withheld more than $2 million of the payment, allegedly because the company said he committed footwear and glove violations when he altered his equipment towards the end of last season.

He insisted he didn’t commit the violations, and was forced to customize his cleats himself because Nike failed to give him cleats that matched the colors of his new team. He said he always customizes the equipment to fit his “high fashion brand” as far as the gloves, and that they hadn’t had a problem with that in the past.

Odell believes the penalties were a way to pressure him into signing a less lucrative deal. He claims he missed out on a $20 million deal, and now he’s suing to collect the fee.

“Being a Nike Athlete and Brand Icon was a dream I’ve had since being a young boy. I wanted to be the next Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant in the Nike Family. When Nike exercised its right of first refusal to match the Adidas offer and not only kept me as a Nike Athlete, but also made me one of their Brand Icons – my dream had been fulfilled,” he wrote.

“Unfortunately, Nike did not honor its commitments. Throughout our partnership, I have kept my promise and fulfilled my obligations to the brand. I am extremely disappointed that I’ve had to take these measures to ensure Nike fulfills their obligations and promises,” he continued.

“Today, I’m taking a stand not just for me, but to set a precedent for all athletes who have dedicated their life to the sport they love – especially those who don’t have the means to stand up for themselves. We are held responsible for fulfilling our obligations under our contracts, but we also have to hold powerful companies like Nike accountable for honoring their commitments too…I look forward to resolving this issue and hope we can start a real conversation about protecting athletes and their rights. This happens too often in the sports industry and it’s time for change.”

“As this is now a legal matter, please refer any questions to my attorney, Daniel Davillier,” he added.

Nike just recently put another relationship on pause amid controversy.