Austin, LA Players Were Allegedly Offered Discounted F45 Franchises

The removal of both the Austin Gilgronis and LA Giltinis prior to the 2022 playoffs left the MLR spinning. The 2023 Final faces a similar dilemma.

According to a report from Jessica Sier of the Australian Financial Review, former Austin and LA owner Adam Gilchrist remains embroiled in disputes with at least five individuals (two from Austin, three from LA) over payments owed under his ownership. Among the revelations is that players for Austin and LA were offered discounted F45 franchises. F45 is a chain of gyms cofounded by Gilchrist. At the time, he was CEO of the company but has since departed due to a rapid decline in the company’s stock price.

The report leaves several questions unanswered:

• Are these the allegations that led to the teams being disqualified?
• Were agreements made with F45 directly for new franchises or were these options to buy existing franchises? If the former, did the company’s board know? Was the discount material to the company’s financial statements? If so, investors could claim they were misled.
• Were these formal options or handshake promises? Does a paper trail exist?
• Who was offered these deals, and how did it impact their cash compensation? Were players clearly taking less due to the offer? If so, why did the league wait so long to step in?

Needless to say, the Gilchrist saga remains far from over. We have reached out to Major League Rugby via Twitter for comment and will provide an update should comment be provided.