Deion Sanders accused of ripping off designer of logos in federal lawsuit
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Colorado football coach Deion Sanders is facing a federal lawsuit that accuses him of ripping off a designer in Nebraska who said he created brand logos for Sanders but wasn’t compensated for his work.
The designer, Alan Tipp, filed suit against Sanders and his business agency, SMAC Entertainment, in January 2025. Sanders and SMAC Entertainment have denied the allegations through their attorney in court records. But the case remains pending and even scheduled Sanders to give deposition testimony in the case July 31.
Tipp’s lawsuit said he created the P21ME and TRUTH logos for Sanders in 2011, which incorporate his old 21 jersey number with his nickname as Prime Time and Coach Prime. The P21ME logo later was used on Blenders sunglasses, Nike products and other gear after Sanders became head coach at Colorado in December 2022.
“Tipp has never been compensated, in any way, for his services by any of the Defendants or for Defendants’ use of the Works,” Tipp’s complaint states. “As a result of the direct and indirect use of the Works, the Defendants have received and continue to receive a substantial amount of revenue.”
Tipp accuses them of unjust enrichment and seeks a judgment against them in excess of $75,000.
Agreement at issue in lawsuit against Deion Sanders
The complaint says Sanders and Sam Morini of SMAC Entertainment asked Tipp to sign a “work-for-hire agreement” in which Tipp would relinquish his rights to the logos effective Aug. 1, 2011.
To induce him to sign it, Tipp’s complaint stated he was told he would be an integral part of the Sanders’ marketing team, including working to develop a marketing plan for sunglasses with the logos and working with Nike on Sanders’ branded gear.
“Each of these statements were false at the time they were made and Morini, SMAC, and Sanders knew them to be false statements of fact, the purpose of which was to induce Tipp to sign the Agreement,” Tipp’s complaint states. “Shortly after Tipp executed the Agreement, Sanders and his representatives began evading Tipp.”
Tipp’s complaint claims the objective was to “fraudulently induce Tipp into relinquishing his rights in the Works so they could continue to profit greatly and unjustly from their use.”
The lawsuit also seeks declaratory relief that the agreement is void because it was made based on false representations.
Sanders opens his fourth season as Colorado's coach Sept. 3 at Georgia Tech. He is in a separate legal fight about whether he will be required to testify at his son Shilo's bankruptcy trial starting Aug. 31.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders accused of ripping off designer of logos in federal lawsuit
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