It appears Shannon Sharpe initially attempted to prevent his rape case from escalating as the retired NFL star reportedly tabled a monetary offer to his accuser in an attempt to settle the issue before it made the news.
While addressing reporters on Tuesday, Sharpe’s attorney, Lanny J. Davis, stated that the ESPN personality and former Denver Broncos star offered “at least” $10 million to his rape accuser “within the last month or so,” TMZ reported.
Davis said that Sharpe’s accuser, identified as Jane Doe in the $50 million civil sexual assault lawsuit that was filed in Nevada on Sunday, was seemingly pondering on accepting the offer at a certain point. But she “suddenly without warning, walked away from our offer.”
Davis also said that it came as a “big surprise to us when suddenly this case was filed without any advanced warning.”
Doe in her lawsuit stated that she and Sharpe met at a Los Angeles gym in 2023. She said she was 20 years old at the time, and she and Sharpe, 56, established a consensual relationship. She, however, claimed that the relationship was abusive and controlling.
Doe in her lawsuit also accused Sharpe of raping her in 2024 after she attempted to end their relationship. She alleged Sharpe sexually assaulted her again in January 2025, per TMZ.
On Tuesday, the plaintiff’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, shared an audio of a conversation he claimed Doe and Sharpe had “near the end of their relationship.” In the audio, Sharpe is heard telling Doe that he’s going to “f***ing choke the s*** out of” her.
But though Davis did not deny the contents of the audio, he emphasized that Sharpe “spoke in the heat of the moment and did not literally mean the words.”
Davis also said the allegations against his client were false, adding that they will file a counterclaim against the plaintiff. Davis said a video involving Sharpe and Doe could likely be made public. But he said the video in question has been hugely edited, so people should not jump to conclusions when it is released.
In the wake of the allegations brought against him, Sharpe took to social media on Tuesday to share a video statement. The 56-year-old labeled the allegations as “a shakedown.”
“This is all being orchestrated by Tony Busby, who has targeted Jay-Z. Tony Buzbee targets black men, and I believe he’s going to release a 30-second clip of a sex tape that tries to make me look guilty and play into every stereotype you could possibly imagine. That video should actually be 10 minutes or so,” Sharpe said.
“Hey Tony, instead of releasing your edit, put the whole video out. I don’t have it or I would myself you know what happened and you’re trying to manipulate the media.”
“I know my family and fans know exactly what this is about,” he said elsewhere in the video. “And I’m going to be out there telling you whatever I need to say, just like I always do. I love all you guys.”
