In 1963, Butts filed a libel lawsuit against "The Saturday Evening Post" after it ran "The Story of a College Football Fix" in its March 23, 1963, issue alleging that he and Alabama head coach Bear Bryant had conspired to fix an upcoming Georgia-Alabama game. The University of Georgia and Georgia Attorney General Eugene Cook conducted separate investigations. "Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts", as it ultimately became when it reached the Supreme Court, was a landmark case that expanded the definition of "public figures" in libel cases. The court ruled in his favor in 1967, and "The Saturday Evening Post" was ordered to pay $3.06 million to the Butts family in damages, the largest settlement awarded at its time in history.