In a May 2024 hype video, an executive at Drive Coffee talks up its Centennial plant.
“We’re walking distance away from the Broncos facility. Being the official coffee of the Denver Broncos, it couldn’t be more perfect,” the man says. “As 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.”
But the Broncos say that Drive was not their official coffee when that video was released.
“Shockingly, Drive posted this video using the Broncos’ 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’ intellectual property,” the team says in a new lawsuit.
Drive was founded in 2018 and became the 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’s logo on its bulk coffee, brewed coffee and K-cups.
“As a local company, Drive Coffee produces a high-quality product that we feel Broncos Country will enjoy every morning,” Dan Hawley, a Broncos vice president, said at the time.
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.
“The Broncos are entitled to damages in the amount of the overdue invoices, accrued interest and attorney fees,” wrote their lawyer, Kevin Walton at Snell & Wilmer in Denver.
An attorney for Drive, Jacob Hollars at Spencer Fane, did not return a request for comment.
This is the fifth time that Drive has been sued in the past year. In two closed cases, it has been ordered to pay $200,000 to a lender and $50,000 to a former employee who sued for back pay. Meanwhile, two other former employees are seeking back pay in ongoing cases.
One of those, former manager of strategic partnerships Andrew Berg, claims that Drive CEO Alex Grappo “diverted company resources from payroll to extravagant expenses,” including the Broncos sponsorship. Drive and Grappo have not yet responded to his lawsuit.
Drive’s website and its LinkedIn page are down this week. It still maintains an Instagram page, where fans of the coffee roaster have been asking whether it remains in business.
“Stay tuned over the next few weeks,” Drive responded Aug. 3, followed by a winking emoji.
