Boardman native and former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar has filed a lawsuit against the media company that hosted the Bernie Kosar Show podcast.

According to the complaint, Kosar signed a talent contract with BIGPLAY LLC around December 30, 2022, to appear on podcasts and certain in person events.

Kosar's agreement with the company required him to appear at two promotional events for BIGPLAY per quarter and the events had to be mutually agreed upon. During the NFL offseason, he hosted the Bernie Kosar Show at least once a month, which was required as part his contract.

According to the complaint, Kosar repeatedly reached out to the company about attending at promotional appearances but did not hear back. Kosar's legal team said the events had to be mutually agreed upon because he had conflicting obligations during the times when BIGPLAY demanded his attendance.

The complaint alleges that BIGPLAY co-manager Kendall Myles refused to coordinate the events, leading to Kosar being unavailable at requested times.

During a September 2023 meeting, Myles allegedly attempted to renegotiate the deal and sent a proposal to modify or terminate Kosar's agreement the next day. The complaint says Kosar refused the proposal.

Court documents claim Myles verbally assaulted Kosar while he was filming an episode of the podcast. The complaint claims that Myles invaded Kosar's personal space, yelled at him so closely that he was spitting in his face and claimed he "owned" Kosar. Myles is also accused of threatening to hit Kosar during the confrontation.

Court records say Myles handed Kosar a "mutual termination agreement" during the confrontation and required that Kosar accept it and relinquish all rights to payment.

Days later, Myles sent a written notice to Kosar wrongfully terminating the agreement for cause. At the time Myles terminated the agreement, Kosar was owed $150,000.

According to the complaint, Kosar cooperated with BIGPLAY throughout the deal including at a New Year's Eve party on December 31, 2022, when BIGPLAY told Kosar that he would have to personally bet $19,000 on the Cleveland Browns to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Kosar placed the bet, leading to his personal services agreement with the Browns being terminated. The complaint says the end of the relationship with the Browns was personally and financially devastating to him.

The complaint accuses Myles and BIGPLAY of breach of contract, indemnification, tortious interference with contract and assault.

Kosar is seeking more than $600,000 for breach of contract.