Shannon Sharpe is being sued over a rape allegation in Nevada.
According to a court document obtained by TMZ, a woman known as Jane Doe has accused a well-known NFL tight end of raping her on multiple occasions in 2024 and 2025. The woman is seeking $50 million in damages for the alleged incidents.
The accuser stated that she was in a long-term relationship with the accused, during which she was subjected to abuse. She also revealed that the public incident involving the player and another woman was a case of mistaken identity, as it was not her involved in the encounter that was accidentally streamed online in September.
The woman stated that she first met the accused in 2023 when she was 20 years old and he was in his mid-50s. She claimed that he made inappropriate comments about her appearance and pressured her into a relationship, even offering to pay for cosmetic surgery if she won a weight-loss competition. The woman alleged that the player continuously contacted her and insisted on her visiting his residence in Beverly Glen.
Jane Doe describes their relationship as consensual, but claims he ‘demanded complete control over her time and body.’ Often he was ‘expecting her to be at his house on his schedule, at his command, whenever he called,’ according to the filing.
She became particularly fearful of Sharpe during an argument during which there was a handgun visible in the room.
Former Denver Broncos star Shannon Sharpe is being sued over a rape allegation in Nevada
‘Plaintiff tried sharing her location with friends from her iPhone — just in case,’ the filings state. ‘But Sharpe saw her doing this. The moment he realized what she was doing, he grabbed her by the neck and told her, ”If you ever do that again, I will f***ing kill you.”’
A popular podcast host and ESPN personality, Sharpe is rumored to be in line for a massive new deal.
Front Office Sports is reporting that Sharpe has received multiple offers as his current media deal with Colin Cowherd’s platform, The Volume, is set to expire. Furthermore, sources tell FSO Sharpe’s next deal is expected to exceed $100 million, which happens to be the reported amount Smith got in his recent contract negotiations with ESPN.
That might come as a surprise, but Sharpe does have a massive audience. A recent interview with comedian Katt Williamson hit nearly 90 million views and Club Shay Shay currently boasts around 4 million subscribers, making it among the most popular podcasts in sports and entertainment.
Regardless of whether Sharpe’s next deal surpasses $100 million in total value, it will assuredly exceed the $22 million he made over 14 NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens.
It’s unclear if Sharpe’s next podcast deal will impact his guest spots on ESPN. Sharpe’s agent could not be reached for comment.
Both Sharpe and Smith previously worked with erstwhile ESPN and Fox Sports host Skip Bayless before joining forces on First Take.
Bayless (left) and Sharpe, pictured in 2016, had a very public fallout on their Undisputed show
Although their relationship can hardly be described as acrimonious, they do frequently quarrel of Lakers star LeBron James, who is feuding with Smith and adored by Sharpe.
When Sharpe said he wished James could have taken a mid-career retirement break, as Michael Jordan once did to play minor league baseball, Smith erupted.
‘You should be ashamed of yourself! That is nonsense,’ Smith responded.
The two then descended into a debate over the different levels of physicality in the league between Jordan and James’s playing days, with Smith suggesting the Chicago Bulls legend had more justification for taking a break.
‘This is the problem with Shannon Sharpe,’ an incensed Smith began, ordering the camera to pan on to him.
‘This dude [is] in the weight room, he’s got muscles coming out of his ears, he works out all the time, he’s the epitome of physicality but he’s going to ignore how physical the game was when MJ was playing compared to what it is now for LeBron. You’ve got to be kidding me!’
