American 800m champion Nick Symmonds and Brooks/Oiselle honchos Jesse Williams and Sally Bergesen filed separate briefs in ​Nike v. Berian ​today claiming that contract reductions are not industry standard. The court documents, obtained via PACER, are available below.  Symmonds's brief states that "In fact, one of the main reasons I left Nike for Brooks was that Nike demanded reductions and Brooks did not." Bergesen and Williams both state that they have personally negotiated contracts that do not contain reductions.

Bergesen, the CEO of Oiselle, states that "In my experience, in talking with other sponsors and industry leaders, reductions, as well as option years, are viewed as being abusive to athletes."

Williams, the global sports marketing manager for Brooks, wrote "in the twelve years that I have been at Brooks, we have not signed any athletes to a contract with reductions. In at least one instance, the athlete told me that this was one of the reasons he decided to endorse Brooks."

The athlete in that case was presumably Symmonds.

Read all three briefs below.

Sally Bergesen Affidavit


Nick Symmonds Affidavit

Jesse Williams Affidavit