In a May 2024 hype video, an executive at Drive Coffee talks up its Centennial plant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re walking distance away from the Broncos facility. Being the official coffee of the Denver Broncos, it couldn\u2019t be more perfect,\u201d\u00a0the man says. \u201cAs we drive by the Broncos facility, as all of us do every morning, it gives us an opportunity to reflect on how cool it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Broncos say that Drive was not their official coffee when that video was released.<\/p>\n
\u201cShockingly, Drive posted this video using the Broncos\u2019 intellectual property after the Broncos terminated their agreement for lack of payment and after the Broncos demanded that Drive cease using any of the Broncos\u2019 intellectual property,\u201d the team says in a new lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Drive was founded in 2018 and\u00a0became\u00a0the official coffee of the Broncos in late 2022. That sponsorship arrangement, which was supposed to last through the 2026 season, gave Drive exclusive rights to use the team\u2019s logo on its bulk coffee, brewed coffee and K-cups.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a local company, Drive Coffee produces a high-quality product that we feel Broncos Country will enjoy every morning,\u201d Dan Hawley, a Broncos vice president, said at the time.<\/p>\n
But the team now claims that Drive never paid the $600,000 sponsorship fee for the 2023 season or the $937,500 fee for the 2024 season. When refinancing talks fell through, the Broncos terminated the sponsorship in 2024. Then, Friday, it sued for more than $1.5 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Broncos are entitled to damages in the amount of the overdue invoices, accrued interest and attorney fees,\u201d wrote their lawyer, Kevin Walton at Snell & Wilmer in Denver.<\/p>\n
An attorney for Drive, Jacob Hollars at Spencer Fane, did not return a request for comment.<\/p>\n