NEWS: Donnie Nelson sues Dallas Mavericks

[Jommybone]

The two are NDA and payment are married to one another though.  One wouldn't exist without the other in a situation like this.

Right. I assume (again, I haven’t read it) that it’s a settlement agreement that contains a confidentiality/non-disclosure clause rather than a stand alone NDA. At least that’s what would be typical. Also typical that the company wouldn’t pay a dime without the confidentiality provision. Guilty or innocent, that’s been my experience, although the bigger the payout, the more likely the insistence on confidentiality. 

So my point was that the confidentiality part of the deal doesn’t make me think anything inappropriate happened. Neither would the payout if it’s small. But if it’s big? Who would agree to pay big bucks to settle a claim they believe is a big fat lie? I suppose it’s theoretically possible. But I’d be super dubious. A big check is an admission. A little check, not really.