Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler was supposed to serve a four-day jail sentence in Tennessee this week, but he was released after less than three. He had been booked into Williamson County Jail on Monday morning as part of a plea deal.
Cutler was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, failure to exercise due care, violation of implied consent law, and possession of a handgun while under the influence last October. In August, the 42-year-old former Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, and Miami Dolphins quarterback took a plea deal, agreeing to plead guilty to the driving under the influence charge.
In addition to the jail time, Jay Cutler was forced to forfeit a loaded Glock handgun that he had in his possession at the time of his arrest. He also had to surrender his Tennessee driver’s license and pay a $350 fine. Now that he has been released from jail he will be on unsupervised probation for one year and must attend a DUI safety class.
Franklin Police Department
According to TMZ, it was unclear why Jay Cutler was released from jail early. Multiple attempts to learn the reason from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office reportedly went unanswered. Cutler has not made any public comments addressing his arrest, his plea deal, or his early release from jail.
Jay Cutler must now deal with a lawsuit
The driver of the vehicle that Cutler hit with his Dodge Ram truck last October, Perry Lee, filed a lawsuit against him in September. Lee claims in the lawsuit that he has suffered “physical and mental suffering” as a result of injuries from the crash which “cause him daily pain and have eroded his quality of life.”
According to the arrest affidavit, Lee claimed that after the accident Jay Cutler, who earned over $122 million during his 12-year NFL career, offered him $2,000 to not involve the police. Now Lee is seeking unspecified damages “so he can get the care he needs and try to move forward with his life.”
Cutler’s ex-wife Kristin Cavallari claimed this past June that she didn’t get “a penny” from Jay in their 2020 divorce. In August, Cutler flatly denied Cavalarri’s claim, saying on the Take It Outside podcast, “Is her lawyer really going to be like, ‘Fine, you get zero dollars. He gets to keep all the money that was made over the seven years.” Absolutely not. That’s completely false.”