A dispute over the management and financial stability of a professional indoor football team has led to a lawsuit seeking substantial damages and the transfer of operational rights. The legal action centers on allegations that the operators of an Eau Claire arena football team failed to meet their contractual obligations, resulting in mid-season abandonment and significant losses for the league.
The complaint was filed by Pulling Guard Productions, LLC, doing business as The Arena League (TAL), in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on April 17, 2026. The defendants named are Eau Claire Arena Football, LLC (ECAF), ETO Investments, LLC (ETO), Jeffrey Olson, and Randi McVinnie.
According to court documents, TAL operates a professional indoor football league under a centralized licensing structure. Teams participate through agreements that require timely funding of league dues, maintenance of facilities, reporting sponsorship activities through designated platforms, and fielding a team each season. On or about July 30, 2024, ECAF and ETO entered into such an agreement with TAL to operate a team in Eau Claire. Jeffrey Olson signed on behalf of both entities and served as the primary point of contact.
The complaint alleges that from the beginning of their relationship with TAL, the defendants struggled to meet financial obligations. TAL reports that ECAF failed to pay for equipment and league dues on time and terminated an existing sponsorship agreement with Eau Claire Event District (ECED) due to personal reasons unrelated to business interests. This sponsorship had been valued at approximately $99,600 per season.
TAL states that it warned ECAF about its financial instability multiple times throughout late 2024 and early 2025. In January 2025, TAL offered ECAF an opportunity to return the team without penalty if they could not continue operations; however, Olson responded in writing on January 29 stating: “We are going to push forward.” Defendants declined this off-ramp offer despite being notified that any subsequent failure would trigger a $150,000 liquidated damages provision.
Problems continued into 2025 when ECAF allegedly failed to comply with requirements related to their use of Sonnentag Center as a venue for games. These failures included not paying required deposits or submitting proper schedules. As a result, Centers LLC terminated the event license agreement on May 20, 2025.
Despite these setbacks, four games were played under defendants’ operation before further issues arose. By June 23-24, Olson informed TAL by phone and email that ECAF could no longer financially support the team through the season—communications which TAL interprets as voluntary withdrawal from their contractual obligations under Section 2(e) of their agreement.
On June 25, TAL revoked defendants’ license to operate the Eau Claire Axemen football team and assumed control over operations in order to fulfill remaining schedule commitments. According to court filings, after this transition TAL incurred more than $54,924 in operational expenses along with additional transportation costs ($5,425) and player per diem costs (about $3,000). Defendants are also accused of interfering with this transition by instructing players not to return equipment or providing misleading information regarding insurance coverage.
The complaint includes several causes of action: breach of contract against ECAF and ETO; piercing the corporate veil/alter ego liability against Olson and McVinnie; breach of implied covenant of good faith; declaratory judgment regarding rights under the agreement; conversion related to retention or damage of assets; unjust enrichment; as well as requests for compensatory damages.
TAL seeks liquidated damages totaling $150,000 as specified in their agreement’s Section 2(e), compensatory damages exceeding $63,349 for actual expenses incurred after assuming operations mid-season—and further relief including declaratory judgments confirming its exclusive rights over all intellectual property associated with the Eau Claire Axemen franchise.
The plaintiff is represented by attorneys John A. Sullivan and Allison L. Dohnalek from Best & Flanagan LLP. The case is identified as Case No. 3:26-cv-00357.
