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Beleaguered NFL kicker Brandon McManus who was released by the Washington Commanders on June 2 amid sexual assault allegations, apparently will still receive the completion of his $1.5 million signing bonus from the NFC East division franchise.
The Commanders inked McManus to a one-year deal worth $3.6 million last March then parted ways with Washington after the said allegations came to the surface. That contract included the aforementioned signing bonus, with the half already paid out. The other half — or $750,000 — was originally due to be received by McManus from the Commanders last Friday, June 7, and according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, McManus had already sent that amount to the kicker.
“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Commanders paid the money that was owed to McManus. (The Commanders declined comment on the matter, citing their policy of not discussing contract details.),” wrote Florio.
“And so McManus received $1.5 million from the Commanders, and he never actually played in a game. He’ll get to keep that money, along with whatever he makes elsewhere. If he makes anything elsewhere,” Florio added.
McManus's legal troubles that could potentially spark the end of his football career reportedly stemmed from a Jacksonville Jaguars team flight to London last September. Two women, both flight attendants, accused McManus of sexually assaulting them, and a lawsuit was filed against the 32-year-old player in May.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said following McManus' release that the team had no idea of the allegations by the flight attendants against McManus before inking the kicker to a contract.
Meanwhile, McManus' legal camp has hit back at the allegations.
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“To be clear, these are absolutely fictitious and demonstrably false allegations made as part of a campaign to defame and disparage a talented and well-respected NFL player,” said McManus' attorney Brett R. Gallaway to CNN.
“We intend to aggressively defend Brandon’s rights and integrity and clear his name by showing what these claims truly are – an extortion attempt,” Gallaway added.
Even though they had already split ways with McManus, it didn't look good on the Commanders that they admitted zero knowledge about McManus' troubles before they signed him. One would think that an organization that was fined $10 million in 2021 for having a toxic atmosphere would never have such an oversight happen, but that's what seems to have happened in relation to McManus.
Ex-Commanders kicker Brandon McManus' NFL career
McManus, who never saw the field as a Commanders player, started his journey in the NFL in 2013. That year, he went unselected at the NFL Draft but was later signed by the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts released him just before the start of the offseason. He then inked a contract with the New York Giants in January 2014 but just like his time with the Colts, he never saw action with them in the regular season.
McManus' break came in August of 2014 when the Giants sent him to the Denver Broncos via a trade. He spent nine seasons with the Broncos and during his time with Denver, he posted a 96.9 percent success rate on extra-point attempts and 81.4 percent on field goal tries. The Broncos released him in 2023 to free up some cap space, leading to McManus signing a one-year contract with the Jaguars. In his only season with the Jaguars, McManus made 30 of his 37 FG attempts and all of his 35 extra-point tries.
