Shannon Sharpe is explaining why he was willing to give his rape accuser at least $10 million to not move forward with her lawsuit ... saying it was a drastic attempt to keep the "intimate details" of his life from going public -- NOT because he did anything wrong.
The Hall of Famer's legal team released a lengthy statement on Friday ... addressing a number of topics in one swift motion -- most notably, the eye-popping settlement offer that was presented to the woman earlier this year.