Shannon Sharpe’s Anticipated $100M Deal For ‘Club Shay Shay’ Falls Through Amid Rape Allegations

Baila Eve ZismanApril 30, 2025, 12:41 amNews >

Former NFL star Shannon Sharpe’s dream of securing a $100 million podcast deal has been dashed amid sexual assault allegations.

Sharpe’s deal with Fox anchor Colin Cowherd’s network Volume (since August 2023) recently expired, and Sharpe was fielding various offers from other media companies to acquire his show.

Sharpe’s podcast, Club Shay Shay, has accumulated millions of listeners and over four million subscribers on YouTube. The network extends beyond the Club Shay Shay podcast, including Nightcap with Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Club 520 Podcast, The Bubba Dub Show and Humble Baddies. Given the size of the Club Shay Shay enterprise, Sharpe was expected to settle on a deal exceeding $100 million.

Such aspirations have collapsed since two separate sexual misconduct lawsuits were filed against Sharpe, which included photo evidence of the harassment via graphic text messages.

Court documents report that in October 2024, Sharpe purportedly “violently sexually assaulted” a woman in her 20s while she begged him to stop. The second lawsuit was filed by Sharpe’s ex-girlfriend, Michele Bundy Evans, who started dating Sharpe in January 2023 and reported Sharpe also assaulted her.

Sharpe denied all of the allegations but also noted that he plans to step back from the upcoming NFL season. In a statement posted to Instagram, Sharpe claimed that his relationship with the women were “100% consensual.” While he cited his plans to return to ESPN for the preseason coverage, Sharpe wrote, “At this time, I have decided to step away temporarily from my duties at ESPN…I will be using this time to focus on my family and addressing these false and disruptive allegations.”

Sharpe was charged with battery in 1995 and 2004. The incident that took place in 1995 saw both Sharpe and the woman charged with simple battery, while the woman was also charged with destruction of property when she broke “glasses and things.” The second case in 2004 had a woman report to police that Sharpe had attempted to physically remove her from his home. Sharpe was charged with simple battery.

At the time, Sharpe’s lawyer argued, “Mr. Sharpe very appropriately and lawfully simply picked her up and gently put her outside of his home.”