Seahawks suing Malik McDowell for failing to pay back signing bonus
Malik McDowell never played a snap for the Seattle Seahawks after he suffered an injury in an ATV accident not long after he was drafted back in 2017, and the team now wants its money back.
According to Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News, the Seahawks filed a lawsuit against McDowell this week seeking to have the former Michigan State star pay back $799,238. McDowell was never cleared by doctors after his ATV accident, and the Seahawks say he was in breach of his contract by suffering a non-football injury. An arbitrator ruled in February that McDowell must pay back $799,238 of his $1,599,238 signing bonus, and the Seahawks say he has not given the money back.
McDowell’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said back in March that the defensive tackle has been cleared by “experts.”
“His doctors believe he’s ready to go,” Rosenhaus said. “We’ve got experts that are saying he will be cleared. So hopefully he will be able to continue his career, possibly (in Dallas). He has been cleared independently. But the Seahawks tried their best to work with him and unfortunately they didn’t feel he could continue to play.”
In addition to the ATV accident, McDowell was also arrested for disorderly conduct back in 2017. The second-round pick had a ton of potential and is still just 22, but it remains to be seen if he will ever play in the NFL.
