Broncos’ Aaron Patrick Sues SoFi Stadium Over ACL Injury

On Tuesday, Broncos linebacker Aaron Patrick filed a negligence lawsuit over a torn ACL that he suffered on October 17 during “Monday Night Football.” 

The complaint, filed in Los Angeles County, named several defendants including SoFi Stadium, the Los Angeles Chargers, and the NFL.

• The lawsuit, which Front Office Sports reviewed, alleges that Patrick’s injury resulted from him tripping over a mat on the sideline as his momentum carried him out of bounds. 
• He ran into the NFL TV liaison, who the lawsuit claims was standing in an improper area. 
• His cleats got stuck in the mat, and he fell and tore his ACL.

“​​SoFi Stadium was built at a $5 billion expense,” Patrick’s attorney, William Berman, said in a statement. “The stadium should have the state of the art equipment to protect for player safety, and not use the type of $100 mats that you would expect to see in a restaurant kitchen.”

Patrick won’t be able to play for the rest of the season. He claims he’s suffered not only physically and emotionally, but also financially.

• He’ll lose $370,000 of his base salary — which the complaint describes as half the total.
• He won’t be able to earn between $200,000-$400,000 in performance bonuses, the complaint alleged.
• Patrick is also on the hook for extra medical expenses.  

As a result, the lawsuit is seeking monetary and non-monetary damages. 

The Chargers declined a request for comment, and the NFL and SoFi Stadium officials did not immediately respond.