Shannon Sharpe sued for $50 million for alleged sexual assault and battery

The “Club Shay Shay” host is being sued for $50 million for allegedly relentlessly pursuing the plaintiff, among other claims. 

After pursing a nine-figure podcast deal last week, Shannon Sharpe is facing an eight-figure lawsuit this week. 

The 56-year-old former professional tight end turned podcast host, is being sued for $50 million out of Nevada by a “Jane Doe” for allegedly committing assault, sexual assault, battery, and sexual battery, and intentionally inflicting emotional distress, Variety reported.

According to court documents, the plaintiff, whom Sharpe met at a gym when she was 19 in 2023, acknowledges the two were engaged in a “consensual rocky relationship” for two years, but she alleges several things occurred that she didn’t consent to.

According to her, Sharpe would record their sexual encounters, sometimes without her explicit consent or knowledge, and he would share these videos with others without her permission as well. She specifies that she was not the woman Sharpe was with when he “accidentally” live-streamed a sexual encounter he was engaged in on Instagram. However, things took a serious turn for the plaintiff around this time.

The leaked live stream led the plaintiff to begin to distance herself from Sharpe, although she alleges he relentlessly continued to pursue her. In October 2024, according to court documents, Sharpe allegedly confronted the plaintiff during an encounter that ended in forcible sex. During another alleged incident in January, the plaintiff claims that Sharpe had unprotected sex with her, despite her attempts to get him to stop or to wear a condom.

“A woman can say ‘yes’ to consensual sexual relations with a man ninety-nine times, but when she says ‘no’ even once, that ‘no’ means no,” the complaint reads, per NBC News. “Defendant Shannon Sharpe, a man who is accustomed to getting what he wants, completely fails to understand this basic concept. After many months of manipulating and controlling Plaintiff—a woman more than thirty years younger than he—and repeatedly threatening to brutally choke and violently slap her, Sharpe refused to accept the answer no and raped Plaintiff, despite her sobbing and repeated screams of ‘no.’”

In the civil case—as of yet, there are no criminal charges—the plaintiff is being represented by Micah Nash and Tony Buzbee, who gained notoriety according to NBC, representing over 20 women who sued quarterback Deshaun Watson in early 2021. According to Variety, he is also currently representing over 150 plaintiffs suing Diddy.  

Sharpe, who played 14 seasons in the NFL, is regarded as one of the greatest tight ends in history. Afte retiring, he worked as an analyst for CBS Sports and Fox Sports before he launched his viral podcast show “Club Shay Shay” in 2020. His show has since become known as a platform for watershed and exposé interviews with some of culture’s biggest A-listers. Per Variety, Sharpe is also looking to potentially enter into a new podcasting deal worth $100 million.