Mark Wahlberg and David Beckham have reached a resolution in their legal dispute over F45 Training.
“We are pleased to have settled this issue and to retain our investment in F45, and wish the team all the best for the future,” Dan Dienst, Executive Vice Chairman of Authentic Brands Group, shared in a Thursday, June 6 statement on behalf of DB Ventures Limited.
The lawsuit was officially dismissed, and Beckham, 49, will remain an investor in F45 Training.
“For a long time, F45 has been – and continues to be – a supporter of Beckham, as he has been for our brand, and are pleased to have reached a mutual business decision to resolve the matter,” the CEO of F45 Training, Tom Dowd, shared in a separate statement on Thursday. He went on to say that the brand remains “committed to supporting the growth of our global franchises,” offering statistics about the success of the gym.
“We are excited about our future and the continued growth of our world-class fitness brands that generated robust total system-wide sales for April of $48.9 million,” Dowd concluded.
In May 2023, Beckham’s DB Ventures filed a lawsuit against F45 Training, claiming that he had been “duped” into signing a deal with the fitness company. The soccer star alleged that he never received $10 million that he had been offered in contract negotiations. (Beckham and former golfer Greg Norman sued F45 Training in late 2022, but a judge ordered them to separate the lawsuits.)
“As F45’s business began to falter in 2022 due to fiscal mismanagement and macroeconomic pressures, F45 withheld millions of dollars in contractually obligated consideration,” Beckham’s filing read, claiming that his involvement in the partnership “enhanced [F45’s] public profile and credibility and helped roll out new fitness offers for F45.”
The suit claimed that Beckham was promised “nearly 1 million shares of stock” six months after F45 went public, claiming the shares were delivered eight months later after losing value. It was also alleged that Beckham lost an additional $5 million in shares. He was seeking $14.3 million in damages.
Wahlberg, 53, was involved in the suit as he owns a 36 percent stake in F45 Training and was named the company’s chief brand officer in 2023. Beckham also revealed in 2021 that Wahlberg had introduced him to the gym franchise.
“I’ve been a fan of the F45 franchise and training model since being introduced by my friend, Mark Wahlberg,” the athlete said at the time. “This partnership is an exciting business venture for me also, and I’m looking forward to the journey with F45 as the business continues to expand globally.”
Neither Beckham nor Wahlberg ever publicly addressed the lawsuit.
