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Michael Oher is a famous former NFL offensive tackle who played for the Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, and Tennessee Titans during his seven-year career.
He is back in the news after accusing the Tuohy family of never actually adopting him. Oher claims that the family never adopted him, but fooled him into a conservatorship to take advantage of the financial benefits. Michael reportedly did not discover the alleged lies until February of 2023.
The story of Oher and the Tuohy became famous when it was featured in “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” book by Michael Lewis. The book was then adapted into a feature film which starred Sandra Bullock as Leah Tuohy, the alleged adoptive mother of Oher. The film was wildly successful, grossing over $300 million at the Box Office and winning Academy Awards for both Best Picture and Best Across.
However, Oher claims he never saw any of the profits from the film, unlike the Tuohy family. “Oher alleges in his legal petition Monday that all four members of the Tuohy family were paid $225,000 for the film plus 2.5% of the film’s proceeds in residual checks, which he says he does not receive,” per Natasha Dye of People Magazine.
The family has since refuted the financial claims by Oher.
The film in particular took a close look at Oher in high school. Oher had a tumultuous childhood after being born to a drug-addict mom and father who regularly served time in prison. Due to having unstable parents, Oher was placed in foster care at age seven. While he became a highly touted high school offensive lineman and a five-star recruit, he struggled academically and his chances of playing college football were in jeopardy since he had a low GPA. In the film adaptation, the Tuohy family adopts Oher and provides him tutoring and he improves his grades significantly to become eligible to play in the NCAA.
While in college, Oher became a unanimous All-American and 2x First Team All-SEC. He also succeeded academically in college, making the academic honor roll twice and graduating with a degree in criminal justice.
After playing college football at Ole Miss, the Ravens drafted Oher 23rd overall in the 2009 NFL draft. Oher signed a five-year, $13.8 million deal for his rookie contract. He helped the Ravens win the Super Bowl in 2012 over the San Francisco 49ers.
In 2014, Oher went and signed with the Tennessee Titans on a four-year, $20 million contract. However, the Titans released Oher after just one poor year with the team. He then went and had a career resurgence with the Carolina Panthers on a two-year, $7 million deal. He had a great season in 2015, allowing just four sacks and three penalties. Following the season, the Panthers gave Oher a three-year $21.6 million extension.
In 2016, Oher only played three games and was placed on Injured Reserve with a concussion. The Panthers released him in 2017 after he failed a physical.
While Oher may be estranged from the Tuohy family, he does have a happy family of his own. Michael Oher also met his wife, Tiffany Roy, during his time at Ole Miss while she was working at the registrar's office. While Roy initially wasn't interested, the two connected weeks later and have been together ever since. Their relationship began before “The Blind Side” film took off. After 17 years of dating, the pair got engaged in 2021 and married in 2022. They have four children together.
