Fernando Tatis Jr. is seeking to void the future-earnings contract he signed with Big League Advance as a minor leaguer via a complaint filed Monday in the Superior Court of California in San Diego.
Tatis might be the most high-profile player among the more than 700 athletes that have signed with Big League Advance (BLA). The $340 million deal that he signed with Padres in February 2021 represents then the biggest payday for a multi-million-dollar hedge fund that has invested more than $190 million in clientele, according to its website.
Tatis received $2 million in advance of his deal with BLA, said Robert Hertzberg, a former Speaker of the California State Assembly and Majority Leader of the California senate who has joined Tatis’ team in the legal complaint. The terms of that deal state Tatis owes BLA $34 million based on the $340 million deal he signed with the Padres.
Tatis did not sign his BLA contract in California, but he is seeking legal recourse for both himself and future players based on California consumer protection laws that are applicable because Tatis is employed by the San Diego Padres. Tatis is the only player attached to the complaint filed Monday.
“BLA is an unlicensed lender issuing illegal loans,” Hertzberg said.
Tatis’ team claims that BLA used manipulative and unlawful tactics to lure him into an investment deal. Tatis’ legal team said in a release that BLA has “has for years run an unlicensed lending business that evades legal oversight and siphons millions in earnings from California workers. Fernando’s legal action aims to expose BLA’s illegal practices and seeks public injunctive relief that would protect others from being exploited in the future. “
Upon arriving at Petco Park on Monday, Tatis deferred to the statement he released Monday afternoon via his legal team.
“I’m fighting this battle not just for myself but for everyone still chasing their dream and hoping to provide a better life for their family,” Tatis said in the release. “I want to help protect those young players who don’t yet know how to protect themselves from these predatory lenders and illegal financial schemes — kids’ focus should be on their passion for baseball, not dodging shady business deals.”
Michael Schwimer, the founder, president and CEO of Big League Advance, told the Union-Tribune in February 2021 that the deal with Tatis was finalized after a three-hour dinner in the Dominican Republic in 2017 with an 18-year-old Tatis and his father, a veteran of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball.
Tatis’ deal with BLA only became public, Schwimer said in 2021, because Tatis was standing up for the company in the wake of lawsuit that one-time Guardians prospect Francisco Mejia filed in April 2018.
Mejia had been traded to the Padres later that year when he dropped the lawsuit, agreed to pay a portion of BLA’s legal fees and issued an apology that stated, in part, that “BLA offers a great option for all minor league players, and one that worked for me and helped me focus on baseball and fulfill my dream of reaching the major leagues.”
BLA is also currently suing former Padres outfielder Franmil Reyes, alleging he owes $404,000 in past-due payments, $298,000 in interest on those payments and additional money from his time playing in Japan, according to a recent court filing. A judge in Washington, D.C., last year also ordered one-time Padres infielder Sergio Alcantara to pay $180,000 to BLA.
When Tatis signed his $340 million deal with the Padres, he briefly addressed his contract with BLA.
“It was just a family decision,” Tatis said in February 2021. “I’m just going to call it that way.”
Staff writer Alex Riggins contributed to this report.
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