Houston — On Monday, HBCU Legends heard from Peak Sports’ legal counsel, Cooper Walker of Frost Echols LLC of Dallas, Texas. Peak Sports hired Walker regarding comments made by NCCU Athletic Director Dr. Skip Perkins regarding NCCU’s contract with Peak Sports.
We at HBCU Legends reached out to Walker for an official comment from Peak Sports President Ryan Holloway. Walker responded to our request with the following statement:
“Peak Sports does not intend to sue North Carolina Central University. Peak Sports highly values its relationship with North Carolina Central University and looks forward to continuing to work with them for many years to come. Peak Sports’ sole motivation for sending the letter to the Board of Trustees was to communicate the truth about the inaccurate statements made by Dr. Perkins about Peak Sports.” — Cooper Walker, legal representative for Peak Sports
Mr. Walker raised concerns about Dr. Perkins’ comments at a June 2024 meeting of the North Carolina Central University Board of Trustees.
Dr. Perkins told the board, “One of the biggest issues, other than insurance, is corporate sponsorship, which I mentioned at the last board meeting. We have a 10-year contract with a corporate sponsorship company, and that company takes 40% of our corporate sponsorship, so it’s a pain for us. I think they signed a contract for a little over half a million dollars, so they take 40% and we take 60%. But we can sell it ourselves. And that’s the other interesting thing, even if we sell it ourselves, they still take a percentage of what we sell.”
According to the agreement, Walker claims that Dr Perkins’ statements were “factually untrue.”
Mr Walker reviewed the letter, pointed out three inaccuracies and set out the precise terms of the agreement.
- “Peak Sports will get 40% of the sales.”
- “Peak Sports will receive 40% of all merchandise sold at the facility.”
- “NCCU has attempted to terminate the contract multiple times.”
First, Walker outlined the terms of the agreement between NCCU and Peak Sports:
- NCCU receives 100% of revenue from $0 to $100,000, a guaranteed amount each year.
- Peak Sports receives 100% of revenues between $100,000 and $275,000. (This amount paid to Peak Sports is well below the industry standard. These funds are used in part to cover Peak Sports’ expenses, which total more than $225,000 per year.)
- Any revenues over $275,000 will be split, with 60% going to NCCU and 40% going to Peak Sports (the industry standard is a 50/50 split).
Walker countered that Perkins sent Peak Sports an addendum on May 5, 2023, resolving the exclusivity issue.
Peak Sports President Ryan Holloway and Vice President Wesley Abercrombie attended the meeting at North Carolina Central University along with Athletic Director Dr. Skip Perkins, General Counsel Fenita Morris Sheppard and Assistant University General Counsel Bradley Hicks.
The two sides agreed to an amendment to the contract that would allow NCCU’s athletic director to “raise funds where Peak Sports does not contribute,” Walker continued, saying, “Since assuming his position on June 1, 2022, he has always had the ability to generate revenue through donations from both individuals and corporations.”
“We’ve met multiple times with (lawyers) to find a way out of this deal. He’s not going to let us go,” Perkins was quoted as saying by the Charlotte Post.
The letter outlines dates of correspondence and voicemails between Perlkins and Peak Sports. One interesting exchange is a 13-minute conversation on April 30, 2024.”Dr. Perkins went on to say that the board was pressuring him to increase revenue. Ryan Holloway noted that Peak Sports had removed the exclusivity clause from their contract, so Dr. Perkins has the ability to increase revenue. Peak Sports also said that they have no intention of canceling the contract.
Three points made clear by Peak Sports were:
• Under the original contract and subsequent supplemental agreements, NCCU has always had the authority to secure funds from donations, including contributions from individuals and corporations. Peak Sports has never received any of the funds raised by NCCU from donations.
• NCCU has yet to sell a single sponsorship for which Peak Sports receives a 40% revenue share.
• Peak Sports visited campus on July 6, 2022 and met with Dr. Perkins for two hours to review the contract and answer questions. The next communication Peak Sports received regarding the contract was in November 2022.
Peak Sports does not intend to pursue legal action regarding Dr. Skip Perkins’ comments. Instead, Holloway asked Dr. Perkins to “verbally communicate these inaccuracies to the Board at their next executive meeting.”
