Cincinnati Bengals v. Bergey
United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
453 F.Supp. 129 (1974)
Bill Bergey (defendant) played for the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals (plaintiff) under a contract through the 1975 season, but in 1974 signed a three-year, higher-paying contract with the Virginia Ambassadors of the new World Football League, set to begin in 1976 (accelerated only if the Bengals released him first). The Bengals, after learning of the deal, offered Bergey a lucrative new contract, which he declined, and then sued Bergey, the Ambassadors, and the WFL to enjoin enforcement of the Ambassadors contract as interference with the Bengals' existing rights.
Whether it is unlawful for a professional athlete or club to negotiate and enter a contract with a competing team or player while under an existing contract, so long as the new contract's services do not begin until after the existing contract expires.