Reebok Says It Had Right to Sell Tim Tebow N.Y. Jets Jerseys - Bloomberg

Adidas AG (ADS)’s Reebok International unit said it was within its rights to sell New York Jets jerseys and T-shirts with Tim Tebow’s name and number, asking a judge to lift an order blocking the sale of the merchandise.

Almost 90 percent of the jerseys and none of the T-shirts had a Reebok name or logo, the company said in a filing today in federal court in Manhattan.

“There is little likelihood that purchasers of those goods would associate Reebok with Tim Tebow, or that Reebok would benefit from the public’s positive feelings toward Mr. Tebow if the court permits the sales of the apparel to resume,” the company said in the filing.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel on March 28 granted a request by Nike Inc. (NKE) for a temporary restraining order, days before Reebok’s licensing agreement with the National Football League was to end and Nike was to become the official supplier of licensed NFL apparel.

Reebok, based on Canton, Massachusetts, said it had the right to sell the jerseys and T-shirts under a sell-off provision of its licensing agreement with Players Inc., the marketing affiliate of the National Football League Players Association. Since Nike couldn’t sell NFL apparel before April 1, Reebok could make jerseys for at most five players who switched teams, according to the filing.

Nike said in a separate filing today that the “intense media interest” in Tebow’s trade to the Jets and the company’s announcement today of its new NFL team uniforms has given it “a-once-in-a-lifetime commercial opportunity.”

“Reebok’s improper, unauthorized, and wrongful sales of Tebow-identified New York Jets apparel threatens to destroy or diminish Nike’s opportunity,” the Beaverton, Oregon-based company said.

Tebow, 24, helped lead the Denver Broncos to the NFL playoffs after taking over as the team’s starting quarterback last year. He was traded to the Jets on March 21.

Tebow, a Christian who prays on the field after his team wins, was named the most popular professional athlete in the U.S. in an ESPN poll this year. His Broncos jersey was the second-highest selling of all NFL players last season, Nike said in the complaint. Public reaction to Tebow’s sudden popularity has been called “Tebow mania.”

The case is Nike Inc. v. Reebok International Ltd., 12- cv-2275, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.