MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: The retired NFL player Michael Oher received $138,000 in profits from the 2009 sports drama film 'The Blinde Side' according to the document filed by his adoptive parents in a Tennessee court on November 8.
The 37-year-old Oher filed a court document in August accusing his adoptive parents, Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy, of receiving millions from the movie while he got nothing.
As per the latest reports by ESPN, the couple submitted evidence to the Shelby County probate court judge of paying Oher $138,311.01 in ten separate installments between June 2007 and April 2023.
'The Blind Side' is based on Michael Lewis's 2006 book of the same name and tells the story of Oher, his foster care period, and how the Tuohy family helped him overcome his impoverished upbringing to play in the NFL.
According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed over $309 million at the box office. Sandra Bullock received the Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying Oher's adoptive mother.
Oher started living with the family in 2004, and the couple helped in brokering the deals to enter the NFL.
Tuohy family says that Michael Oher received equal profits from the film
The statement filed by Tuohy's lawyers says, "By agreement between the family members including Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, their children SJ and Collins, as well as Michael Oher, the book and movie proceeds were to be split five ways."
However, Oher's petition claimed that his adoptive parents' family "collectively received millions of dollars, and Michael received nothing for his rights."
He also accused the couple of misleading him into believing that he was adopted, but instead, he was placed in a conservatorship. The conservatorship, however, ended in September after he filed the petition.
Tuohy's lawyers denied Oher's claims, stating that the couple had "spent tens of thousands of dollars of their own money to support Mr. Oher during his high school and college years."
Financial documents show payments made to Michael Oher
The latest submissions in a Tennessee court included tax reform documents showing that the Tuohy family received over $432,000 from Twentieth Century Fox, Alcon Film Fund, and Left Tackle Pictures for the movie between 2007 and 2021.
It also had a separate ledger of payments the family made to Oher, copies of checks, and bank statements indicating deposits into an account under the name of one of Oher's children. He received $8,480,10 as the final payment on April 17.
Oher's petition also includes demanding the couple pay him his share of the money they made using his name and image. Based on a New York Post report, Oher made over $34 million in his career, playing for the Baltimore Ravens, the Tennessee Titans, and Carolina Panthers until his retirement in 2017.
