Shannon Sharpe and his attorney have released the name of the ex-girlfriend accusing him of rape in a Nevada lawsuit, as well sexually explicit text messages she allegedly sent to the Pro Football Hall of Famer.
‘i want you to put a dog collar around my neck and choke me with it while ur f***ing me,’ read one of the messages purportedly sent to Sharpe by his 20-something ex-girlfriend and accuser.
‘I know u miss this big juicy a**,’ she allegedly wrote in another message to Sharpe. ‘$25k for each cheek.’
The 56-year-old Sharpe is denying the accusations of rape and has countered with his own claim that the plaintiff, identified in her filing as Jane Doe, is trying to score a major financial settlement.
Furthermore, Sharpe’s counsel, Lanny J. Davis is accusing the plaintiff of secretly recording a ‘consensual’ sexual encounter with the intention of editing and misrepresenting it for use in her case against the podcaster and ESPN personality.
‘This lawsuit, filed by [Jane Doe] and orchestrated by her attorney Tony Buzbee, is a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars,’ read the statement from Davis. ‘It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations — and it will not succeed.
Shannon Sharpe attends Invest Fest 2024 at Guardian Works on August 23

Shannon Sharpe and his attorney have released the name of the ex-girlfriend accusing him of rape in a Nevada lawsuit, as well sexually explicit text messages she allegedly sent to him
‘In her effort to extract a large financial settlement, [Jane Doe] presented Mr. Sharpe with a secretly recorded video of a consensual sexual encounter,’ the statement continues. ‘We believe the video has been heavily edited and taken entirely out of context, crafted to falsely portray a consensual act as non-consensual. [Jane Doe] has refused to provide a copy of the full, unedited version of the recording to Mr. Sharpe’s legal team.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Buzbee, the accuser’s attorney, for comment.
Jane Doe is claiming the legendary NFL tight end raped her in 2024 and 2025, according to a court filing obtained by DailyMail.com. TMZ was the first to report the lawsuit.
The accuser claims she was abused by Sharpe over their year-long relationship. She also says 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.
Sharpe is first accused of raping Jane Doe the following month, allegedly forcing himself on her as she ‘was crying and sobbing.’ He allegedly raped her again in January after arriving at her home with promises of Christmas and birthday gifts.
‘The lawsuit filed under the pseudonym ‘Jane Doe’ lays out a pattern of intimidation, manipulation, and abuse, including allegations that Sharpe repeatedly threatened to choke and slap Jane Doe,’ read a statement from Buzbee.
Davis’ firm released several explicit text messages, purportedly sent to Sharpe by his accuser.
‘To set the record straight, we are releasing several of [Jane Doe’s] own explicit text messages to Mr. Sharpe that clearly indicate the nature of their relationship was consensual and sexual in nature — and, in many cases, initiated by her with specific and graphic requests,’ read the statement from Davis.
‘Contrary to the allegations she makes in her lawsuit, consensual sex continued until January 2, 2025 – the day after she asked for ‘$25,000 per cheek,’ as quoted above from her text message to Mr. Sharpe.
The shocking purported exchanges between Sharpe and his accuser date back to November of 2023.
‘Only if you put that baby gravy in me, then I can do whatever I want to me,’ read one message Jane Doe allegedly sent to Sharpe.
‘I wanna put my tongue in you’re a**hole and then marry u,’ read another message.
Two of the alleged texts from Jane Doe to Sharpe included her request that he ‘put a big black baby in me.’

Bayless (left) and Sharpe, pictured in 2016, had a very public fallout on their Undisputed show
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.’
Curiously, Sharpe demanded she sign a non-disclosure agreement when their relationship began, only to drop that request when she repeatedly refused.
‘… Sharpe made another demand—she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, an ”NDA,”’ reads the filing obtained by DailyMail.com. ‘He refused to explain why and would not let her see a copy of the proposed agreement. He simply insisted she sign one. Plaintiff refused. After multiple attempts, when he realized she would not cooperate, he finally dropped the issue.’
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.
‘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.