Earlier this week, former NFL player Michael Oher dropped a bombshell accusation against the Tuohy family, saying that they didn’t actually adopt him.
Michael has claimed that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy became millionaires after “tricking” him into letting them be his conservators, which in turn, had him giving up his authority to make business deals.
In the petition, Michael wants the court to terminate the conservatorship and issue an injunction prohibiting The Tuohys from using his name and likeness. He is also seeking a “fair share of profits” plus “unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.”
Now, a source is revealing just how much money the family made from the film, and it’s not as much as you think it is.
Keep reading to find out more…
According to a source, via People, the family only earned $700,000 from the movie adaptation.
They said that the family “received approximately $700,000 total in rights, payments and profits, which was intended to be divided between the family members,” including Michael.
“The Tuohys have not received millions of dollars from the movie,” the insider added. “They have not even received $1 million from the movie.”
“When Michael Lewis, a friend of Sean’s since childhood, was approached about turning his book on Mr. Oher and the Tuohys into a movie about their family, his agents negotiated a deal where they received a small advance from the production company and a tiny percentage of net profits. They insisted that any money received be divided equally. And they have made good on that pledge,” Martin Singer, an attorney for the family, added.
In an additional press conference, held today, two more lawyers for the Tuohy family backed up the statement, saying that “each person received $100,000.”
Steve Farese also added that the money was first paid to the Tuohys, who then gave Michael his portion. At the time, he had to comply under NCAA rules.
Earlier this week, the lawyers also stated that Michael threatened the family with the claims if they did not pay him $15 million.