The Tuohys and Michael Oher are in a bitter legal battle following the ex-NFL star's lawsuit.
There's been a misconception about exactly how much money the Tuohy family made for the role they played in a story that would ultimately become the box office hit, The Blind Side.
It's been reported that Sean Tuohy and Leigh Anne Tuohy and their family received 2.5 percent of the film's profits -- the film grossed approximately $309.2 million -- but that's not accurate. ET has learned that the family deal actually paid them the aforementioned percentage of net profits, which is based on money left over after all costs are distributed.
All in all, it's believed the family earned under $1 million from the 2009 film based on Michael Lewis' 2006 bestseller of the same name, which centered around Michael Oher and the evolution of the integral role played by the left tackle, or "the blind side."
The "under $1 million" figure lines up with what the Tuohys' family attorneys said at a Wednesday news conference in Memphis, Tennessee. It was attorney Randall Fishman who insisted that each member of the Tuohy family -- including Oher -- were paid approximately $100,000 after it was all said and done.
"Well, each member of the family has received the same amount of money," Fishman said. "So, imagine a pie divided by five, OK? We estimate each person received $100,000."
That's a stark contrast to allegations made by Oher in the 14-page petition he filed in Shelby County, Tennessee, probate court, in which he claimed that the Tuohys used their power as conservators to negotiate a deal with 20th Century Fox that paid them and their biological children -- Collins Tuohy and Sean Tuohy Jr. -- millions of dollars in royalties from The Blind Side. The petition alleged that all four members of the Tuohy family were paid $225,000 for the film plus 2.5% of the film's proceeds.
As for Oher's claims that he "shall not be allowed to enter into any contracts or bind himself without the direct approval of his conservators," Fishman said that's "patently false."
"He's negotiated his own contract with the NFL. He's hired and fired his agents," Fishman claimed. "The Tuohys have never had to sign off on any of that. He's done that all himself."
As for signing off on anything related to Oher, a 2017 episode of Below Deck featuring Sean and Leigh Anne has resurfaced on TikTok, in which Sean explains how the team behind The Blind Side -- starring Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Jae Head, Tim McGraw, Lily Collins and Kathy Bates -- got the rights to the Tuohy family's name.
"The writer of the book, he and I went to school together since we were five years old," Sean says, referencing Lewis. "So I get a call -- Steven Spielberg, Harvey Weinstein -- I had to give them the rights to use our name, and I said, 'I'll give you the rights if I get to read the script and approve it or un-approve it.' So, sure enough, seven months later we get an envelope in the mail."
In a lengthy statement to ET, the Tuohys' other attorney, Marty Singer, said, "Should Mr. Oher wish to terminate the conservatorship, either now or at any time in the future, the Tuohys will never oppose it in any way."
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