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Keyshawn Johnson, Super Bowl champion and current Fox Sports analyst, has launched a legal challenge against longtime NFL agent Christopher Ellison, alleging unpaid compensation nearing $1 million. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on May 23, accuses Ellison of failing to honor a decade-old agreement that promised Johnson a share of commissions earned from players he helped recruit.
The core of Johnson's claim rests on an oral pact formed around ten years ago. According to the suit, Johnson agreed to identify and connect emerging football talents with Ellison, who would then represent them professionally. In return, Johnson was promised one-third of Ellison's standard 3% commission on the NFL contracts signed by those players.
Among those named in the filing are some of today's prominent NFL talents: Deommodore Lenoir of the 49ers, Jaylon Johnson of the Bears, Mike Hughes of the Falcons, and Romeo Doubs of the Packers. Notably, Lenoir signed a lucrative five-year deal worth $88.8 million with San Francisco last year, while Jaylon Johnson secured a four-year, $76 million extension in Chicago.
The lawsuit claims Johnson is owed "no less than $962,335" for his role in guiding these players to Ellison, stating, "Defendant promised to pay Plaintiff a specific percentage of the player's signed contract with the NFL." Furthermore, Johnson's legal team alleges that Ellison misled him for months, stating he had not received payment for those clients—a claim Johnson's camp strongly disputes. "It is our reasonable belief that this is false," the filing asserts.
Ellison, however, has denied all accusations. Speaking through representatives, he rejected the notion that any binding agreement existed or that Johnson played a substantive role in the recruitment of these athletes.
This isn't the first professional crossroads Johnson has faced in recent years. After being laid off by ESPN in 2023, the former wide receiver found a new home with FS1's "Speak," where he currently serves as co-host. His pivot to broadcasting followed a high-profile playing career and now, it seems, an ongoing entanglement in the business side of professional sports.
Johnson is seeking the full amount he believes he is owed, along with interest, attorney's fees, and additional damages. As the case unfolds, it raises broader questions about informal business arrangements in athlete representation and the enforceability of verbal agreements in high-stakes environments like the NFL.
