Seahawks sue former draft pick McDowell for not repaying bonus money

May 30 (UPI) -- The Seattle Seahawks are suing former draft choice Malik McDowell for his alleged failure to repay close to $800,000 in bonus money.

The Seattle Times reported that the Seahawks filed suit in a federal court in Michigan claiming that McDowell owes the team $799,238 in bonus money that an arbitrator ordered him to pay back.

McDowell was the 35th pick overall in the 2017 NFL draft, but did not play for the Seahawks after he was injured in an ATV accident in July 2017.

In the suit, the Seahawks claim that "McDowell was ruled to be in breach of his contract when he suffered the non-football injury and that he would need to forfeit his signing bonus totaling $1,599,238.

"The Seahawks withheld payment of $800,000 for the 2018 season, leading to the amount of $799,238 that was ruled McDowell must pay back."

Seattle coach Pete Carroll said the most significant injury McDowell suffered was "a really bad concussion."

The team waived McDowell in March with an injury designation. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said that an independent doctor had cleared McDowell to again play in the NFL and that he felt his client would again play.

McDowell visited the Dallas Cowboys in March but did not sign with the team.