RAMMSTEIN
Registered Trader
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Athletes Owed Thousands From Fleer
6/29/2005 10:13:52 AM
By Bob Brill
Beckett Contributor
Hundreds of players never got paid for the autographs they signed for Fleer Trading Cards, documents sent to creditors this week revealed.
Among the players Fleer owed before going out of business were Al Kaline ($5,000), Don Mattingly ($23,000), Carl Crawford ($21,000), Cal Ripken ($12,800), Carlton Fisk ($12,600) and Hank Aaron ($80,000).
Whether or not these and the other athletes, retired and playing, will ever see any of that money is still undetermined. Warren Martin, who is assigned the task of liquidating the company’s assets, has a major job in front of him. According to records, Fleer is $33 million in debt. Martin was working to sell the Fleer Trademarks, but it’s uncertain at what price and if there is even a buyer.
Along with the name and logos, Fleer has a van, office furniture, computers and media equipment and “sports-related inventory and collectibles” which include autographs and game-used items designed to go into the company’s products. Some of these are believed to be left from unfulfilled redemptions, which, unfortunately for collectors, probably aren’t a high priority as liquidation continues.
Among the other creditors are firms such as Yaquinto Printing in Dallas, owed nearly $2 million, 4Kids Entertainment, which licenses Yu-Gi-Oh to Upper Deck (over $1 million), Collect Sports.net ($1.2 million) and many more.
Interestingly enough, even Alex Grass, who owns 51 percent of the company, is listed as a creditor. While the company is being liquidated, Grass – who stepped in for his son, Roger, who was CEO – is putting in for $17 million in loans he reportedly gave to keep the company in business, the records show.
Martin meanwhile is keeping three Fleer executives on board through the liquidation process at a cost of over $1,600 per day. CFO Chris Tobia will be paid $1,000 per day to stay on, while Phil Stiles, who was the Director of Credit, will be paid $375 a day and Sharon Barra, who was the Finance Manager, gets $296 per day.
The plan calls for a public auction if the courts approve, to be conducted as early as July 15.
Athletes Owed Thousands From Fleer
6/29/2005 10:13:52 AM
By Bob Brill
Beckett Contributor
Hundreds of players never got paid for the autographs they signed for Fleer Trading Cards, documents sent to creditors this week revealed.
Among the players Fleer owed before going out of business were Al Kaline ($5,000), Don Mattingly ($23,000), Carl Crawford ($21,000), Cal Ripken ($12,800), Carlton Fisk ($12,600) and Hank Aaron ($80,000).
Whether or not these and the other athletes, retired and playing, will ever see any of that money is still undetermined. Warren Martin, who is assigned the task of liquidating the company’s assets, has a major job in front of him. According to records, Fleer is $33 million in debt. Martin was working to sell the Fleer Trademarks, but it’s uncertain at what price and if there is even a buyer.
Along with the name and logos, Fleer has a van, office furniture, computers and media equipment and “sports-related inventory and collectibles” which include autographs and game-used items designed to go into the company’s products. Some of these are believed to be left from unfulfilled redemptions, which, unfortunately for collectors, probably aren’t a high priority as liquidation continues.
Among the other creditors are firms such as Yaquinto Printing in Dallas, owed nearly $2 million, 4Kids Entertainment, which licenses Yu-Gi-Oh to Upper Deck (over $1 million), Collect Sports.net ($1.2 million) and many more.
Interestingly enough, even Alex Grass, who owns 51 percent of the company, is listed as a creditor. While the company is being liquidated, Grass – who stepped in for his son, Roger, who was CEO – is putting in for $17 million in loans he reportedly gave to keep the company in business, the records show.
Martin meanwhile is keeping three Fleer executives on board through the liquidation process at a cost of over $1,600 per day. CFO Chris Tobia will be paid $1,000 per day to stay on, while Phil Stiles, who was the Director of Credit, will be paid $375 a day and Sharon Barra, who was the Finance Manager, gets $296 per day.
The plan calls for a public auction if the courts approve, to be conducted as early as July 15.
