Shawne Merriman

Did You Know?

• Merriman earned his nickname "Lights Out" at Frederick Douglass High School after rendering four opposing players unconscious in one game.
• His 41.5-inch vertical jump in 2003 was the best ever by a Maryland defensive lineman to that point.
• Merriman was named one of the top five basketball defenders in the D.C. area by The Washington Post.

Professional career

The San Diego Chargers used the 12th overall pick in the 2005 draft to select Shawne Merriman out of Maryland. That pick originally belonged to the New York Giants, who sent it to San Diego as part of the 2004 trade that sent Philip Rivers and future draft capital to the Chargers for the rights to Eli Manning. Manning, taken first overall by the Chargers, had refused to play for them, echoing John Elway’s stance with the Colts in 1983. After a lengthy holdout, Merriman signed a five-year deal worth $11.5 million on August 1, with $9 million guaranteed and $4 million in incentives.

He began his rookie season on the inactive list and missed the first 10 days of training camp. He didn’t crack the starting lineup until week 7, but then notched six sacks in his first four starts. Playing outside linebacker in San Diego’s 3–4 defense—the same role he had at Maryland—he earned a Pro Bowl nod. His standout performance came in week 15, when the Chargers handed the Indianapolis Colts their first loss of the season.

Merriman recorded two sacks and two tackles for loss, including a fourth-and-goal stop of Peyton Manning for a six-yard loss. That game drew national attention, and he made the Pro Bowl the following week. The Chargers finished 9–7 in 2005, beating both the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and the previously undefeated 14–0 Colts.

Legal issues

Shawne Merriman was arrested on September 6, 2009, after his ex-girlfriend, reality TV personality Tila Tequila, accused him of choking and holding her against her will when she attempted to leave his home. The battery and false imprisonment charges were dropped less than a week later, on September 11, 2009. That December, Merriman sued Tequila, claiming she had interfered with his business contracts, engaged in unfair competition, and infringed on his trademarked "Lights Out" logo. He alleged she had used the logo without permission and derailed a deal with Wal-Mart for T-shirts. Tequila did not respond to the lawsuit, leading to a default judgment of $2 million in Merriman’s favor, but that ruling was overturned in January 2010. The following month, both parties asked the court to drop the case, and it was dismissed that same day.

In July 2017, a woman named Kimberly Fattorini died from an apparent overdose. Her parents, Deann and Ferdinand, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Merriman, a nightclub, and others, claiming their daughter had been drugged and possibly assaulted. Merriman was there when Fattorini lost consciousness, and a friend called 911. According to the suit, Fattorini had texted earlier that night saying Merriman put something in her drink, which her parents believed was GHB, a depressant often called the date rape drug. When paramedics arrived, they found her unresponsive on the floor, half-naked, with her jeans unzipped and unbuttoned, her bra twisted, and no underwear. No sexual assault exam was performed; by the time a detective requested one based on new information, it was too late.

Media appearances

Shawne Merriman once appeared on an episode of MTV Exposed. In 2007, he landed on the cover of EA Sports' NFL Tour video game. He showed up in Keri Hilson's "Knock You Down" music video and made a WWE appearance at One Night Stand 2008, where he whacked Chavo Guerrero with a Singapore Cane. He later returned to WWE as a pre-show analyst for WrestleMania XXX in 2014 and did the same for Monday Night RAW's pre- and post-shows on the WWE Network the next night.

Merriman was in a Nike football "Leave Nothing" ad and had a cameo on season 7 of HBO's Entourage. He joined Antonio Gates on Cartoon Network's Destroy Build Destroy. Under his MusclePharm sponsorship, he went on GNC's Athlete Tour 2010. In 2012, he visited WGR Sports Radio 550's "Schopp and the Bulldog" at Bills training camp in Rochester, New York.

He posed for PETA's "Ink Not Mink" campaign, showing off his tattoos to discourage wearing animal fur. In 2017, he competed on MTV's The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros for his Lights On Foundation. The next year, he appeared on The Dirty Sports Podcast and worked as an NFL analyst on FS1. Merriman also stepped into Total Nonstop Action Wrestling: at Rebellion in 2024, he pretended to back Joe Hendry but then clotheslined him, letting Rich Swann win. At Unbreakable in 2025, he handled commentary during TNA X Division Champion Moose's open challenge.

Other ventures

Shawne Merriman made a brief stop in the world of professional wrestling in April 2014, appearing on the pre-show of WrestleMania XXX. Shortly after, a report on The JBL & Cole Show stated he had "joined the WWE family" and was set to train at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. By August 27 of that year, however, reports indicated his contract with WWE was no longer active. The following January, the Japanese martial arts event GANRYUJIMA announced it was negotiating with Merriman to fight, but the two sides could not reach a deal.

In 2017, Merriman entered motorsports by partnering with NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver and Naval officer Jesse Iwuji, becoming the owner of Iwuji's No. 36 car. The two met at a Los Angeles fashion show promoting Merriman's clothing line, "Lights Out." Merriman, a longtime fan of motorsports, joined Iwuji's Patriot Motorsports Group team. In August 2018, he signed with the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation for a fight later that year, scheduled to face Mike Bourke on November 9.

According to WBKFF president Bas Rutten, the Wyoming athletic commission suspected Bourke's previous fight in Romania was fixed and, because Bourke shared a management team with Merriman, refused to license him. A contract pay dispute then arose: after the promotion allegedly agreed to the contracted sum, Merriman's management team would not accept it. The promotion refused to pay Merriman for not fighting, leading him to withdraw from the bout.

In April 2019, Merriman announced he was launching his own MMA promotion, Lights Out Xtreme Fighting, with its first event planned for May 11, 2019.