I'd look at it a little differently. The 40k puts him on the hook for something. He (or someone who signs sn agreement like that) is in a position where something he says could be construed as violating the agreement and he could get taken to court, even if he's in the right. No agreement, nothing to worry about. Why take an immaterial amount of money to be personally liable for something. Getting to tell the story is a minor perk