A Las Vegas court ordered Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones to pay $11.7 million in damages to three people for his alleged role in a 2007 strip-club shooting.
Jurors at the Clark County court voted 7 to 1 on the verdicts Friday.
Jones was ordered to pay former club manager Tommy Urbanski $9.617 million for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and $750,000 to Kathy Urbanski for loss of consortium. Tommy Urbanksi was paralyzed from the waist down in the shooting.
Jones must pay $1 million, along with $300,000 in punitive damages, to Aaron Cudworth, a bouncer who was shot in the chest and arm, for assault, battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
We learned this week that the NFL asked Jones to speak to incoming rookies about avoiding off-the-field issues and why that matters to new millionaires. This provides another tangible example from which he can pull.
Jones told the Bengals' official website this week that his message to rookies will start and end with the notion, "This is not a joke." He'll urge the league's newest players to treat NFL careers as if "you're a business owner, and every decision you make is a reflection of you."
Pacman has stayed out of trouble in recent days. The former first-round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans was suspended by the NFL for the 2007 season and for six games in 2008, as a Dallas Cowboy, for off-the-field incidents. Friday's court ruling touches on a case nearly half a decade old, but the consequences and weighty price tag are fresh reminders of why rookies should listen to Pacman's message.
UPDATE: Jones' attorney, Lisa Rasmussen, told The Associated Press the cornerback would appeal the ruling.
"It's obviously a devastating amount for him financially," Rasmussen said of Jones, who will receive a $750,000 base salary for the 2012 season and could earn a $250,000 bonus. "He has really worked hard to make a comeback with his NFL career. He doesn't make enough money to pay that judgment."
But Urbanski told The AP he believes the verdict will serve as a warning to athletes that they cannot get away with "rampaging" behavior.
"They've got to clean up their acts," he said. "All of them."
The incident started after Jones threw cash at the stage, according to police. He was asked to leave the club after becoming angry when dancers started picking up dollar bills he threw in their direction. Arvin Kenti Edwards, the accused shooter, and Jones met prior to the shooting that wounded Urbanski and Cudworth, police say.
