November 20, 2025
‘The total of the Invoices that Mr. Sanders currently owes Plaintiff is $164,285.55, including $10,967.91 in interest for the services provided and costs incurred.’
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers tryout Shilo Sanders has been sued by a law firm that represented him in a case that led to his bankruptcy filing, and the firm claims he has not paid the fees it charged him.
According to USA Today, Barnes & Thornburg LLP filed a lawsuit against Sanders Nov. 17, stating that he owes the firm nearly $165,000 for services rendered. The athlete retained the firm’s services after he was sued by a security guard in 2016, related to an incident when the guard, John Darjean, claimed that he was injured during a confrontation with Sanders at his high school in 2015.
They also claim to have performed work for Sanders when he filed for bankruptcy.
Shilo Sanders sued over $164K unpaid legal fees. Read more: https://t.co/rE8Zvl7lzp pic.twitter.com/ieMokRVOrW
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 19, 2025
The lawsuit states that the firm “delivered the legal services and incurred the costs reflected in the Invoices between May 1, 2024, and August 26, 2024, based on the Agreement,” according to the document filed in federal court in Dallas. “Mr. Sanders, however, failed to pay the amounts reflected in the Invoices presented to him, and has not tendered payment in response to Plaintiff’s efforts to obtain payment on the outstanding Invoices.
The total of the Invoices that Mr. Sanders currently owes Plaintiff is $164,285.55, including $10,967.91 in interest for the services provided and costs incurred.”
The complaint says that in August 2024, the attorney working on his legal matters, Victor Vital, was leaving the firm to join another firm, Haynes Boone. However, Sanders would still be responsible for any outstanding amounts owed for legal work done on his behalf. Sanders eventually terminated his arrangement with Barnes & Thornburg and followed the attorney to the new law firm.
Sanders, who was cut from the Buccaneers right as the NFL preseason ended, was recently accused of making unauthorized bank transfers totaling approximately $250,000 from his bank account as his bankruptcy case is ongoing. According to USA Today Sports, the Trustee, David Wadsworth, made the accusation in a court filing on Oct. 22. He is looking for the return of the money allegedly transferred from the account. Wadsworth claimed that Sanders violated bankruptcy laws when he made the transfers.
Because of this, Wadsworth is seeking “turnover all revenue and proceeds of any prepetition NIL contracts entered into by the Debtor and the other Defendants, whether that revenue was entered into before or after the Petition Date.”
Sanders is not on any NFL roster after being released by Tampa Bay.
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