million in salary, plus another $1 million for the buyout of his USFL contract. Death and aftermath Culverhouse was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1992. After a successful operation to remove a tumor and part of his lung, he began chemotherapy a few months later, when a routine exam revealed a recurrence of the cancer. Despite his health problems, he remained a hard worker until the end, and even went hunting in Tanzania only four days after having part of his lung removed. An experimental procedure failed to stop the cancer, and he died on August 25, 1994, at the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans. He was survived by wife Joy, daughter Gay, and son Hugh, Jr. Sale of the Buccaneers Several investors stepped forward with offers to buy the Buccaneers after Culverhouse's death, including Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, New York Yankees owner (and Tampa resident) George Steinbrenner, and Massachusetts developer Socrates Babacas. In response to the ensuing publicity, the trust administering Culverhouse's estate then issued a statement that the team was not for sale. They reversed their position two months later, as a poor early-season record led to declining fan support and revenues. The decision to sell the franchise came on the same day that Joy filed a $25 million claim against Hugh's estate. Hugh had paid $16 million for the franchise, which was now valued at $142 million. With Barnett Bank filing claims for $20.8 million against the Culverhouse estate, the trustees came very close to accepting Angelos' $200 million offer, which would have involved relocating the team to Baltimore, Maryland. Fearful of losing the team, civic leaders presented a proposal guaranteeing ticket sales of at least 55,000 for all home games for the next two years. The team was eventually sold to Palm Beach, Florida businessman Malcolm Glazer for $192 million, at that moment the largest price ever paid for a professional sports franchise. Lawsuits over the Culverhouse estate Before Culverhouse's death, his wife, Joy, had signed a post-nuptial agreement to surrender her half of the estate. This was done on the advice of lawyer Fred F. Cone, Jr., who would later become one of the three trustees handling the Culverhouse estate. Joy charged that the trustees were mishandling the estate, and not paying her share. She filed a malpractice suit against Cone for advising her to give up her marital rights, and a