Frank Thomas suing White Sox, Nike, Fanatics over jersey sales

Posted March 24, 2026 1:57 pm

By Larry Holder

Frank Thomas has filed a lawsuit against the White Sox, Nike and Fanatics, accusing them of profiting from the sale of City Connect 2.0 jerseys bearing his name without his consent.

The former White Sox slugger is seeking at least $50,000 and punitive damages, according to the lawsuit filed through Cook County circuit court.

Thomas claims he has received no compensation or other consideration from Nike, Fanatics and the White Sox for the use of his name and likeness, and the retention of benefits those companies received outside of Thomas’ consent violates “fundamental principles of justice, equity, good conscience, and fair play.”

“The White Sox do not comment on on-going litigation,” the team said in a statement to The Athletic.

Nike would not comment on the lawsuit, while Fanatics couldn’t be reached for comment. The City Connect 2.0 jersey with Thomas’ name and number on it is still available on Nike and Fanatics’ websites.

Thomas’ lawsuit attaches the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Chicago Bulls (the City Connect 2.0 uniform’s design was inspired by those of the Bulls, who, like the White Sox, are owned by Jerry Reinsdorf) and a slew of retailers, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Academy, Kohl’s, Lids and Macy’s as respondents in discovery.

An attorney for Thomas told Front Office Sports, “The lawsuit speaks for itself.”

Thomas spent much of his Hall of Fame career with the White Sox, hitting 448 of his 521 career home runs for Chicago. The team retired his No. 35 in 2010, and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. Thomas also served as a White Sox consultant for business operations in 2016.

However, the lawsuit is the latest issue in Thomas’ up-and-down relationship with the White Sox. Last month, Thomas criticized the team’s handling of a post via X commemorating the start of Black History Month.

The White Sox shared a timeline of the franchise’s “momentous firsts” with Thomas, the organization’s career home-run leader, isn’t mentioned once on the graphic, where it is noted that Dick Allen was the first Black player to win league MVP as a member of the White Sox, with Thomas joining the late Hall of Famer with MVP nods in 1993 and 1994.

Thomas replied to the team’s post on X. “I guess the black player who made you rich over there and holds all your records is forgettable! Don’t worry I’m taking receipts,” he wrote.

Near the end of Thomas’ playing career, he clashed publicly with then White Sox general manager Ken Williams, with the most notable dispute centered on the team’s 2002 decision to invoke a “diminished skills” clause in Thomas’ contract, which allowed the organization to reduce his pay.

Williams, who in 2000 became the White Sox’s first Black general manager and the third Black GM in MLB history, was mentioned three times in the team’s Black History Month graphic.

The bitter feud between Thomas and Williams remained evident in 2006 after the slugger had joined the Athletics.

“Believe me, it’s not easy to deal with an idiot,” Williams told reporters. “And this man, over the course of the years, has tried my patience and tried it and tried it.”