Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end and media personality Shannon Sharpe will not be returning to ESPN after time off from the network, The Athletic reported Wednesday.
Sharpe has not been on any ESPN shows since April, when a lawsuit was filed by his ex-girlfriend accusing him of rape.
That lawsuit was reportedly settled earlier in July, with the details of the settlement unknown. However, Sharpe will reportedly not be returning to ESPN, where he's been involved since 2023.
Here's what to know about ESPN "cutting ties" with Sharpe following the settlement of his lawsuit.
MORE: Full details from sexual assault lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe ESPN exit, explained
The Athletic reported Wednesday that ESPN has "cut ties" with Sharpe. He had not appeared on the network since April, but that was considered a temporary decision that left the door open for a return. Sharpe said at the time that he would return to ESPN at the beginning of NFL training camp.
In April, Sharpe was reportedly named in a lawsuit by a woman under the "Jane Doe" pseudonym in Nevada. The lawsuit alleged that Sharpe "brutally sexually assaulted" the woman "several times at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025," and the suit was worth over $50 million. No criminal charges were filed against Sharpe.
The lawsuit stated that Sharpe met the woman in 2023 at a gym in Los Angeles, and he allegedly began to "pursue her relentlessly" through calls, texts, and inviting her to his home. The woman who filed the lawsuit said that she and Sharpe were eventually in a consensual relationship, but she called him "controlling." The lawsuit stated that at one point, Sharpe allegedly raped the woman after she tried to end the relationship.
The "Jane Doe" in the lawsuit was seeking $50 million for “pain and suffering, psychological and emotional distress, mental anguish, embarrassment, and humiliation.” Sharpe publicly denied all the allegations, calling it a "shakedown" attempt and saying he only had a consensual sexual relationship with the woman. He also released graphic text messages he allegedly received from the plaintiff that suggested their relations were entirely consensual.
On July 18, the woman's attorney, Tony Buzbee, announced that his client and Sharpe had "reached a mutually agreed upon resolution" and "all matters have now been addressed satisfactorily, and the matter is closed." The details of the settlement are unknown, but Buzbee indicated that the lawsuit was dismissed.
Sharpe has appeared in sports media often since retiring from the NFL, as the 57-year-old was formerly a sports talk host at FS1. In 2023, he joined ESPN as a member of "First Take" and other platforms.
Sharpe still hosts his own podcasts, “Club Shay Shay” and “Nightcap,” along with former NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, but he will reportedly no longer be with ESPN.
Wednesday night, Sharpe addressed his ESPN exit to open the latest episode of "Nightcap."
"I found out this information a little earlier in the week, and really the only thing that I really asked is, 'Guys, could we wait until Monday? My brother's going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I really want it to be about him and I want it to be about my family,'" Sharpe said.
"I said, 'This coming out will overshadow everything he's worked his entire life for,' and unfortunately it didn't happen that way."
Sharpe shared that he apologized at length to his older brother, Sterling, before saying, "I really enjoyed my time at ESPN. It gave me an opportunity to bring my audience. … They saw me say 'Lakers in 5' and they saw me say all these analogies my grandparents gave me. … They did what they felt they needed to do and I'm at peace with that."