New York Football Giants, Inc. v. Los Angeles Chargers Football Club, Inc.

Charles Flowers (defendant) was a college football player for the University of Mississippi. On January 1, 1960, the University of Mississippi would be playing in the Sugar Bowl. Flowers was eagerly anticipating playing in the Sugar Bowl. The National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Southeastern Conference prohibited any player from participating in the game if the player had signed a contract to play professional football. While on a trip to New York before the Sugar Bowl, Flowers met with a New York Football Giants, Inc. (Giants) (plaintiff) official, Wellington Mara, who presented Flowers with a contract to play for the Giants. Flowers refused to sign the contract because he wanted to play in the Sugar Bowl. Mara persuaded Flowers to execute the contract by promising to keep the contract secret until after the Sugar Bowl. The contract provided that it was not binding until it was approved by the National Football League (NFL) commissioner. Mara promised not to file the contract with the NFL commissioner until after the Sugar Bowl. The Giants gave Flowers bonus checks after he executed the contract. On December 5, 1959, Flowers called the Giants and attempted to withdraw from the contract. Instead of agreeing to Flowers’s withdrawal, the Giants immediately filed Flowers’s contract with the NFL commissioner, who agreed to wait until after the Sugar Bowl to announce the contract. On December 29, Flowers entered into a preliminary verbal agreement to play for the Los Angeles Chargers Football Club, Inc. (Chargers) (defendant), with the parties agreeing to execute the written contract after the Sugar Bowl. Also on December 29, Flowers sent a written withdrawal notice to the Giants and returned the uncashed bonus checks. The Giants sued the Chargers and Flowers, seeking specific performance. The trial court held in favor of Flowers and the Chargers, and the Giants appealed.