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Brisbane Roar is embroiled in a legal stoush with one of its major sponsors, taking the company to court over claims promotional payments of more than $130,000 are overdue.
However, the sponsor Outkast claims it terminated their agreement because of Roar’s alleged contractual breaches, which included that the club had signed on a rival sponsor.
Documents filed in the Supreme Court by the club in February claim there are multiple unpaid invoices by Outkast spanning several months.
Outkast’s branding on the jerseys last year. Credit: Albert Perez/Getty Images
These included three payments of $45,833 for November, December and January. The club is also claiming more than $20,000 in legal costs at the time of filing their claim.
The invoices comprised of the sponsorship fee of about $41,000 for each month, plus GST, according to the club.
Since mid-2023 – and presently – the club said it had featured Outkast’s branding, including on match jerseys, its website and social media platforms, and other promotional items.
The club said at the time of going to court that Outkast had not paid the sponsorship support for each of the months listed.
Brisbane Roar shared news about joining with Outkast in 2023. Credit: Brisbane Roar
Outkast, however, claimed it terminated the agreement in December. It said on December 12, the company sent an email to the club stating it rejected the November and December invoices pending contract disputes and contractual breaches. A letter was also sent by their lawyers, Outkast said, advising of terminating the agreement.
The club disputed this, saying the purported termination was in breach of the contract.
In its counter-claim documents, Outkast said it made clear it had no previous experience in sports marketing, or in sponsoring an A-League team. It made further claims that in January 2024, the club’s employee in sponsorship management ceased his employment, and another representative was not appointed.
There were additional claims by Outkast that the club’s marketing manager had also resigned in October 2023, and there was no replacement.
Outkast claimed it had hired a marketing consultant, which came at a cost of $10,000 per month. In the documents, Outkast also submitted it had suffered losses, which included the consultant’s costs.
Outkast said it also held a videoconference with the club on December 6, telling them they had not provided the sponsorship entitlements. Outkast claimed it was told it had been “overpromised” by the previous Roar management.
Several weeks before Outkast sought to end the agreement, Outkast claimed Roar entered into sponsorship with competitor Alliance Commercial, which it claimed was in breach of the agreement.
As part of its defence, Outkast said the club was contractually obliged for a range of things, including making opportunities for two coach appearances, and one full team appearance for internal marketing events. Outkast claimed Roar did not provide several sponsorship entitlements, including 12 jerseys and jackets to Outkast at the start of the season, which it alleged were acts in breach of the agreement.
The club is claiming a declaration that Outkast’s purported termination of the agreement was ineffective, and sought payment for the outstanding invoices.
The case remains before the Supreme Court.
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