Shannon Sharpe is being sued over a rape allegation in Nevada.
A woman, identified only has Jane Doe, is claiming the legendary NFL tight end raped her on multiple occasions in 2024 and 2025, according to a court filing obtained by TMZ. The woman is asking for $50 million.
The accuser says she and Sharpe were in a years-long relationship during he abused her. She also claims that it was another woman, and not her, who was caught having sex with Sharpe when the Pro Football Hall of Famer accidentally streamed live audio of the encounter on social media in September.
The couple met in 2023 when she was 20 and he was in his mid-50s, according to the filing. The woman claims Sharpe told her he would ‘buy her fake t**s’ if she won a weight-loss competition with him. From there, she claims, Sharpe pursued her vigorously, calling, texting and ‘demanding she come to his Beverly Glen mansion.’
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!’
