Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe made headlines last week in connection with his pursuit of a nine-figure podcast deal. This week, he’s facing an eight-figure lawsuit.
Sharpe was sued on Sunday by a woman proceeding under the “Jane Doe” pseudonym. The 13-page civil complaint, filed in a Nevada state court, alleges that Sharpe committed assault, sexual assault, battery, and sexual battery, and that he engaged in the intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The plaintiff claims that they embarked on a “rocky consensual relationship” that lasted nearly two years.
The complaint alleges that Sharpe recorded their sexual activities, something without her knowledge, and that he was sharing the videos with others without her permission or knowledge. The complaint contends that it was another woman, not the plaintiff, with whom Sharpe was having sex when he “accidentally” livestreamed the encounter on Instagram.
That was, per the complaint, the moment at which the plaintiff “began to pull away from Sharpe.” The complaint claims that he relentlessly pursued her after she stopped answering her phone or sharing her whereabouts.
The complaint contends that Sharpe confronted the plaintiff in October 2024, after she had commenced efforts to separate from him. The complaint details the ensuing encounter, which culminated in allegedly forcible sex against her consent.
Another alleged incident happened in January 2025. The complaint alleges that Sharpe engaged in unprotected sex with the plaintiff, despite her efforts to get him either to stop or to wear a condom.
From the first page of the complaint: 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. 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.’”
The complaint seeks a minimum of $50 million from Sharpe. If/when there’s a trial, the recovery, if any, will be determined by a jury, based on the evidence and the law. The number can, in theory, be anything.
The plaintiff is represented by Micah Nash and Tony Buzbee. Buzbee rose to prominence in NFL circles via the representation of more than 20 plaintiffs who sued quarterback Deshaun Watson, starting in early 2021.
It is a civil case, with no criminal consequences attached directly to it. Sharpe will have all available defenses available to him as the case proceeds.
Ravens safety Ar’Darius Washington has not signed his tender, but he also did not sign an offer sheet before Friday afternoon.
As Jonas Shaffer of The Baltimore Banner reports, the deadline now has passed for restricted free agents to sign with another team.
The Ravens had placed a right-of-first-refusal tender on Washington. That assured him a one-year, $3.26 million deal for 2025 but allowed him to negotiate with other teams with no compensation granted to the Ravens if Washington left.
Washington, an undrafted free agent in 2021, replaced Marcus Williams in Week 8 last season and had a career year. He played all 17 games and made 10 starts, totaling two interceptions, a forced fumble, a sack and 64 tackles.
He played only eight games with one start in his first three seasons, recording 14 tackles, two passes defensed and a sack.
Quarterback Jalen Milroe recently said that his “superpower” is being able to play one step faster than his opponents in the passing game and running game.
But one of the teams that could be targeting Milroe touted one of those skills over the other when describing his play this week.
Browns General Manager Andrew Berry said Milroe has “rare physical talent” on Thursday.
“He may be the only quarterback when he gets in the NFL, who’s faster than Lamar [Jackson]. Don’t tell Lamar I said that, please,” Berry said with a laugh at his pre-draft press conference. “[Milroe has] rare physical gifts. He’s strong, he’s fast, he’s got a really strong arm. And any system that you build around him, you want to take advantage of the fact that he has things that no other players at the position have.”
Cleveland also has one advantage over other teams in evaluating Milroe in that offensive coordinator Tommy Rees held the same position at Alabama in 2023, Milroe’s first year as a starter.
“It helps a lot,” Berry said. “I mean to have been at Alabama with him for a full year, calling plays for him, knowing his strengths and weaknesses — it helps a lot.”
In 2023, Milroe completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 2,834 yards with 23 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 531 yards with 12 TDs. Last season, he completed 64.3 percent of his throws for 2,844 yards with 16 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, rushing for 726 yards with 20 scores.
The Bills have agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $6.8 million with cornerback Tre’Davious White, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
White returns to the team that made him a first-round pick in 2017.
The Bills cut him before the start of the 2024 offseason in a cost-cutting move, and White signed with the Rams. Los Angeles traded White to the Ravens on Nov. 5.
In 11 games last season, White totaled 22 tackles and five pass breakups.
He made two Pro Bowls in his seven seasons with Buffalo, recording 311 tackles, 18 interceptions and 68 pass breakups.
One of the biggest stories as the 2025 draft approaches relates to the plans for Travis Hunter after he’s drafted. He clearly wants to try to play both ways on a full-time basis.
Will the team that picks him let him do it?
Hopefully, they’ll let him try. It’s far better for him to figure it out on his own that it’s too much to handle than for someone else to tell him he can’t do it.
On Tuesday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh suggested it will be hard for anyone to do it.
“It’s gonna be interesting to see how they do it, wherever he goes,” Harbaugh said during a pre-draft press conference. “But to say that you’re gonna be completely immersed in everything that there is to know on offense and everything there is to know on defense. I don’t know if there’s enough hours in the day for a player to be able to do that, and to have every detail locked down.
“But you certainly could do it I would think on one side of the ball and then have some sort of a package on the other side of the ball, which is my guess is how the team will do it, wherever he goes. But I assume we’ll be playing against him, so we’re about to find out how that team does it.”
That team is likely the Browns. A division rival of the Ravens. So, yes, Harbaugh will find out — twice this year and every year Hunter is in Cleveland — how the Browns use him.
Harbaugh has a point. Think of the time a player spends (if he’s truly committed to his craft) preparing for a game. Beyond the reps on the practice field, he has to know the playbook. He has to know the audibles. He has to know the game plan. He has to know the various adjustments and checks at the line of scrimmage. He has to study film of the upcoming opponent. It’s a full load on one side of the ball. Double it, and it could be overwhelming.
Still, Hunter did it in college. And he did it well enough to be regarded as a top receiver prospect AND a top cornerback prospect.
He has earned the opportunity to attempt to do it at the next level. For now, the question is whether the team that drafts him is willing to let him try. If that team isn’t willing to let him try, it just shouldn’t draft him.
That said, Harbaugh has had a player play extensively on both sides of the ball. In 2019, Patrick Ricard became the first player since Browns receiver/safety Mike Furrey to play 100 or more snaps on offense and 100 or more snaps on defense. Furrey did it by shifting from receiver to safety due to injuries in the secondary. Richard played both defensive tackle and fullback by design.
Still, Hunter is looking at far more than 100 snaps on offense and defense in a season. If he gets his wish, he’ll be reaching that level every two games.
It would be great for the Browns if he can pull it off. It would be like having an extra player on the roster. It would give the Browns flexibility on game days, when it’s time to decide who should and shouldn’t be in uniform. They can dress one fewer receiver or one fewer defensive back, allowing them to use another player at another position.
Here’s hoping the Browns, if they take him, are willing to let him give it a shot. Then, if he concludes on his own that it’s too much to handle, he can settle into one position or the other.
