John Cena settles Ford GT lawsuit, putting future out-of-contract sales into question

After six months of litigation, Ford and John Cena have reached an out-of-court settlement. The legal spat stemmed from Cena’s breach of contract in regards to selling his Ford GT before two years of ownership.

Ford required all of its hand-selected GT purchasers to sign an agreement agreeing not sell the car for 24 months. Following the news that the pro wrestler and actor went ahead and sold it anyway after very little time into his ownership, Ford served Cena with a lawsuit demanding to buy back the car for its $463,376.50 sale price, plus $75,000 in damages and right to reclaim any profit made from the sale.

According to Jalopnik, Cena and Ford settled lawsuit for an undisclosed sum, which the automaker will donate to charity. In a statement from his legal team to Jalopnik, Cena stated: “I love the Ford GT and apologize to Ford, and encourage others who own the car to respect the contract. I am pleased we could resolve this matter outside of court, and that a worthy charity will benefit from one of the most iconic cars in the world.”

The selection process to receive one of the 500 examples of the Ford GT was rigorous. With thousands of applications to reckon with, Ford focused on putting the new car in the hands of those it deemed worthy brand ambassadors and influencers who would do more than just squirrel the car away in a never-seen collection.

All of this still casts a strange shadow over the resale of GTs in general. With John Cena’s settlement, it sets a precedent that owners won’t be able to ignore the purchase contract without legal recourse. What that means for the recent $1.8 million sale at a Mecum auction in Indianapolis? That story may not be finished just yet.