The "4th and Long" PR people have been great in sending out info and videos to get the word out on the new show, but I bet they'd been trying to keep this bit of news under wraps. The Dallas Morning News is reporting that three individuals are suing Michael Irvin, and the producers of the show, for stealing the idea from them....

Three men are claiming interference against Michael Irvin in a lawsuit, saying the former Cowboys star stole their football reality show concept and turned it into a cable TV program.

The men say they approached Irvin in 2007 to pitch their show titled “Guts to Glory,” featuring contestants competing for a spot on a professional football team, according to a lawsuit filed in Dallas County District Court last week.

Irvin’s Dallas-based attorney, Larry Friedman, said his client had thought of the concept several years earlier after he watched the first episode of the reality TV series "American Idol." Irvin met with dozens of people regarding a reality football program, Friedman said.

The men presented their concept to Irvin and his agent and representative in August 2007, according to the lawsuit, obtained by Courthouse News Service. In the following months, they negotiated an agreement regarding how much money each side would receive.

The agreement first proposed that Irvin and his agent receive 25 percent of a producing fee in connection with the show. In March 2008, Irvin’s representatives told the plaintiffs he wanted 95 percent of the fee, the lawsuit states.

Fourteen months later, “4th and Long” appeared on TV.

I completely forgot to check out the debut of "4th and Long" when it aired, but lucky for me, Spike puts full episodes up on its website. Not only was the show hilarious, mainly because of Michael Irvin being dressed in all black and channeling his inner Jerry Jones, but because just about every contestant threw up. Let's go to the montage!