Marshawn Lynch Avoids Jail After Former NFL RB Accepts Plea Deal in 2022 DUI Case

Erin WalshFebruary 21, 2024

Jane Gershovich/Getty Images

Former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch has avoided jail time after accepting a plea deal in his 2022 DUI case, according to David Charns of 8 News Now.

Under terms of the plea deal, Lynch’s misdemeanor DUI charge will be lowered to reckless driving if he “completes DUI school, a victim impact panel, an alcohol evaluation, 200 hours of community service and stays out of trouble for a year, documents said,” per Charns.

Lynch was also ordered to pay a $1,140 fine.

“Mr. Lynch has not been convicted of any offense at his time,” his attorneys, Richard Schonfeld and David Chesnoff, said in a statement. “He has agreed to complete certain requirements which will result in this case being closed as a reckless driving traffic offense.”

Lynch was arrested and charged with misdemeanor counts of DUI, failing to drive in a travel lane and driving an unregistered vehicle after he was found asleep behind the wheel of an unregistered car that was deemed to be in undrivable condition near downtown Las Vegas in August 2022.

According to the arrest report (h/t ProFootballTalk’s Michael David Smith), Lynch refused to take a breathalyzer. He was then forced to submit a blood sample and his blood alcohol level was measured to be more than twice the legal limit.

Lynch’s attorneys had claimed that he shouldn’t have been charged with any driving offense because his car was parked and not being operated. However, Nevada law says that any person sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle is deemed “in physical control” of the vehicle.

During Lynch’s playing career, he pleaded guilty to a hit-and-run charge in 2008. He also pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving after being arrested on suspicion of DUI in 2012.

Lynch was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2007 draft. He spent seven of his 12 seasons with the Seahawks, with whom he won a Super Bowl title, and also played for the then-Oakland Raiders. He retired after the 2019 campaign.