Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is being sued by Leaf, a trading card company, for not autographing enough memorabilia items.
Autographs have long been a way for elite athletes to connect with admiring fans, but they’ve gone long beyond scoring signatures at events. Athletes now have game-worn items sold at pricey auctions, commanding thousands with proof of authentication.
Often, an autograph is partial proof of that authentication, and for one trading card company, it became grounds for a lawsuit.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is being sued by Leaf, a trading card company, for not fulfilling autograph orders with his prized signature, according to a lawsuit filed by the company.
Leaf CEO Brian Gray tweeted about why the company took this drastic measure against Lamb.
As we shared last week, Leaf has filed the first ever lawsuit against an athlete in order to compel the completion of an autograph contract so customers holding redemptions are not forced to take replacements.
We hate doing this, but customers need defending here.
— Brian Gray (@leafceo) May 23, 2022
“We hate doing this, but customers need defending here,” Gray wrote.
Dallas Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb is being sued for his autograph
Cowboys Country’s Mike Fisher shared the legal documents detailing the lawsuit in which the company claimed “significant damages” because Lamb “breached his License Agreement with Leaf to sign and return to Leaf trading cards in return for a payment from Leaf at a stated amount per each signed card.”
Essentially, Lamb did not sign the required number of cards, meaning that Leaf was unable to fulfill orders and satisfy customers.
The lawsuit arrives while Lamb is currently practicing at OTAs with his team following a highly-successful season. According to PFF, CeeDee ranked third for the highest rate of contested catches among wideouts in 2021.
Highest rate of contested targets caught last season
1️⃣ Mike Evans: 75.0%
2️⃣ Jaylen Waddle: 70.6%
3️⃣ CeeDee Lamb: 70.0%
4️⃣ Jakobi Meyers: 69.0% pic.twitter.com/CwuMrtyAtF
— PFF NE Patriots (@PFF_Patriots) April 24, 2022
PFF’s Trevor Sikkema expects 2022 to be even better for Lamb.
While the lawsuit certainly presents an off-the-field headache for Lamb and the Cowboys this offseason, ideally, Lamb can continue to focus on his game and build off of a successful 2021 campaign.
