Dwyane Wade Was Once Sued for $25 Million by His Former Business Partners
Dwayne Wade spent 16 years in the NBA, most of the time with the Miami Heat. He earned three NBA championship titles and is considered to be one of the best shooting guards of all-time.
Worth approximately $120 million, Wade has had his share of business ventures. Back in 2010, a deal went bad, and his former business partners attempted to sue him for damages.
Why was Dwyane Wade sued by his former business partners?
Wade’s former business partners, Mark Rodberg and Lauren Hollander, claim they lost millions when Wade walked away from a restaurant deal. According to Bleacher Report, they had planned to use his name and likeness in a chain of sports-themed restaurants.
Two restaurants had successfully opened in Miami, and they had plans to rapidly expand. The former partners accused Wade of failing to promote the required material, as per their agreement.
Wade argued that his name was used in ways that he didn’t approve of. The restaurant chain never got off the ground, and they attempted to sue Wade for $25 million.
What was the fight about?
According to court records obtained by ESPN, Dwyane Wade was supposed to get 10 percent of the profits from the restaurant deal. The agreement included a payout of $1 million over a 5-year term.
Marcus Andrews, who is Wade’s best friend and founder of The One Agency in Miami, negotiated the original deal. He was entitled to 2 percent of the profits as well.
During the trial, Wade revealed that Rodberg had planned to split the remaining 88 percent of the profits with a former business partner, Richard von Houtman.
Why did Dwyane Wade’s business arrangement fail?
Wade produced evidence that von Houtman had failed to perform the agreed-upon responsibilities and duties. He claimed that he and Andrews asked for a 70/30 split, and Rodberg refused.
The partnership dissolved and plans to expand and build more restaurants collapsed since they could not agree on acceptable terms.
Wade later told Fortune in the video above, “I suffered from it. I spent a lot of time in court. I lost a lot of money, but what I did was I walked away with experience.” He continued, “I learned something from that moment and hopefully I never have to deal with that again.”
The case was settled
After nine hours of testimony, the involved parties agreed on an undisclosed amount. At the time, Wade stated that it was in his best interest to close out the case, as he didn’t want to continue fighting it out in court.
At the end of the trial, everyone was smiling and posing for pictures, so it seems the unclosed amount was amicable to everyone involved.
Dwyane Wade feels that justice was served
Wade was relieved to put an end to the entire restaurant deal. He was anxious to get back to his children and put the whole ordeal behind him.
Although it was never revealed how much he settled for, Wade told ESPN in that same piece, “The biggest thing is just justice, understanding that the things that were claimed, the things that were said about me, they’re not true.”
He continued saying, “I understand, being in the limelight like I am, that things like that are going to happen. I’m not going to back down from it, especially when I know I’ve done no wrong.”
Current investments and projects
Almost a decade later and Dwyane Wade is back in the restaurant game, with 800 degrees, which he opened with NBA player Udonis Haslem. Wade also has his own shoe and apparel company, a wine label, and has produced a documentary film. He says that he takes the work ethic and principles of teamwork that he learned in basketball and applies that to his business career.
