TLDR A banned Florida memorabilia seller says a TikTok representative told it a Fanatics exclusivity deal was the “only way” back on the platform. The Fanatics contract the seller received says Fanatics makes “no representation” about TikTok’s actions. The agreement required no purchases, but a Fanatics distributor quoted a minimum order of about $48,600. Fanatics calls the antitrust lawsuit meritless and says it does not force anyone to do business with it. The seller’s own exhibits show its ban came before the exclusivity offer, which conflicts with part of its complaint.
A Florida sports memorabilia seller says a TikTok account representative told it that signing an exclusivity deal with Fanatics was the only way to get its banned account back.
The claim appears in messages filed as exhibits in a federal antitrust lawsuit in Los Angeles. Fanatics calls the suit meritless.
Bigfoot Sports Breaks LLC, based in Largo, Florida, filed the case Sept. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. It names TikTok Inc., TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, ByteDance Inc. and five Fanatics entities.
What the TikTok Messages Say
Bigfoot says it sold autographed NFL helmets on TikTok livestreams until TikTok permanently banned its account on Sept. 18, 2025. The ban notice cited “multiple IP Policy violations” and trademark strikes claimed by the NFL.
In messages dated Sept. 22, 2025, on Lark, a ByteDance workplace app, the representative said the ban was “coming from the IP owner.”
Later, the representative asked: “Are you willing to sign over exclusivity to licensed product through fanatics?” When Bigfoot principal Brian Gualdiero asked if that was “the only way to get unbanned,” the reply was “correct.”
The representative then connected Gualdiero with Relics Ventures, which called itself “Fanatics’ Under Wraps distributor for Tiktok.” A Relics