Why David Beckham is suing Mark Wahlberg’s fitness company

The soccer icon is suing F45 Training, a fitness company co-owned by the actor, claiming it owes him millions of dollars for an endorsement deal.

According to court filings, Beckham entered a five-year agreement in 2020 to be a brand ambassador for F45. The company said it would pay Beckham $1.5 million per year, the filings said, in addition to shares of the company six months and 12 months after it went public.

In court filings, Beckham’s management business said F45 did not pay him the promised “substantial cash and equity compensation” for his endorsement, even after its IPO in July 2021. It claims F45 failed to make good on the following promises: to transfer nearly 1 million shares to Beckham within the time period outlined, and to issue $5 million worth of additional shares.

Beckham claimed he received the initial shares eight months later than promised—by then, F45’s stock had declined, costing him $9.3 million, he said. The Inter Miami co-owner sued the fitness chain in May 2023, claiming he is entitled to more than $14 million in damages.

F45 initially sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, but a judge denied the motion in September 2023, according to Fox Business. Lawyers for F45 denied Beckham’s allegations in court filings. The company said the former soccer player did not fulfill his contractual obligations and had “unclean hands.”

On F45’s social media accounts, it’s business as usual. The company is currently promoting “Wahlberg Week,” a free-trial week of workouts created exclusively with the Ted star.

From fit to flop

F45 first launched in Australia in 2011, and has since expanded internationally to more than 60 countries, according to its website. F45—which stands for “functional” exercise for 45 minutes—combines elements of HIIT, circuit training, and functional training. 

Wahlberg acquired a 36% stake in F45 in 2019 through his investment group, according to Beckham’s lawsuit, and joined the company’s board the same year. The actor was named F45’s chief brand officer in 2023, and regularly appears as the face of the brand in promotional materials.

But F45’s valuation tumbled just as quickly: It went public on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2021 with a $1.4 billion valuation, but then a series of issues, which Beckham calls “fiscal mismanagement and macroeconomic pressures,” followed—and the company later revealed that it lost a combined $372 million in 2021 and 2022.

F45 delisted from the stock exchange in August 2023, after it failed to file its 2022 financials with the Securities and Exchange Commission in time, thereby not complying with NYSE rules. F45’s share price declined by more than 90% in 2023.

A messy history

Beckham is not the only former brand ambassador to accuse F45 of not following through on payments.

Beckham initially sued F45 in October 2022 alongside former world No. 1 golfer Greg Norman, alleging breach of contract. They were later ordered by a judge to bring their cases separately, and Norman did not pursue another lawsuit.

In 2017, prior to Wahlberg’s involvement with F45, former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens was the first pro athlete to bring a lawsuit against the fitness company, claiming it owed him $700,000.

Owens’s lawsuit claims he agreed to appear in a promotional video for $15,000—and received the payment. But Owens also claimed that F45 promised to pay him an additional $25,000 per gym for the first 25 gyms opened, and an additional $5,000 for every opening that followed.

F45 publicly denied the claims and said it would countersue Owens, but as of April 2024, it is unclear what became of Owens’s lawsuit.

“We’re not a company that doesn’t pay our bills,” F45’s co-CEO told TMZ at the time.