The Adam "Pacman" Jones situation took a curious turn when it was revealed through police documents that Jones had paid about $15,000 in connection with the shooting outside a Las Vegas strip club that left one man paralyzed. An arrest warrant for the alleged shooter, Arvin Kenti Edwards, who was arrested in Washington state where he was being held on unrelated charges, described the payment as "extortion money."

According to the football player's lawyer and police documents, Jones -- through intermediaries -- was being warned that someone would come after him and family members if he didn't pay.  Jones passed along the $15,000 through go-betweens in two installments.

Here are two interesting elements to all this and remember that at this time, police have not disclosed the details of how they tracked down Edwards.

First, police say that in the strip club incident where Jones is said to have started a disturbance inside the club before he and his party were ejected that Jones and Edwards met briefly outside before parting. As part of alleged demands for cash, Edwards was alleged to have delivered the message that he wanted payment for "services rendered."  So does that open the door to the possibility that Edwards may be prepared to say that he was encouraged by Jones? Jones has consistently denied any role in the shooting.

Second, Jones' agreement with prosecutors in having his own charges pleaded down from felonies to misdemeanor conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct included cooperating with police to identify the shooter. Assuming Jones kept police informed about the payment demands, that would certainly help Jones. If he did not, that would be problematic. At the moment that's not crystal clear but Jones' lawyer said the Titans cornerback has cooperated with police all along.

Here's more on the case.