Cedric Benson and his lawyer had conceded the former University of Texas football great should compensate a woman who was injured when his Rottweiler attacked her and her small dog two years ago in a West Austin neighborhood.

But, the difference between the amount the woman had asked for and the one Benson was willing to give her could be measured by several football fields.

In final arguments Wednesday, the woman's attorney asked a Travis County jury tasked with resolving the dispute to assess $200,000 in damages to cover medical treatments and prolonged suffering. Benson's lawyer called that amount extreme and suggested a sum of $11,000.

The jury decided on a figure somewhere in the middle, ordering Benson to pay the woman, Lynn Comegys, $41,000.

Benson, college football's top running back in 2004, expressed disapproval, muttering an expletive in the courtroom as state District Judge Dustin Howell announced the verdict. Then, he left the courtroom and hurried down five flights of steps before presumably exiting the courthouse.

The lawsuit against Benson was the fourth related to an attack involving his Rottweilers, but the first to go to trial.

Comegys, a retired IBM executive, said the case was about public safety, not money.

"One of the main things we really wanted to get across is you have to take responsibility for your dogs, and make sure the public is protected and the dogs are protected," she said.

Benson's attorney, Rhett Hoestenbach, said he was pleased with the verdict.

"We think the jury listened to it and made their decision," he said. "We're sorry it happened. Sorry it had to come to this."

Hoestenbach declined to speculate whether he believes the verdict will lead to Benson making changes to the way he cares for his Rottweilers, whose past attacks on people and animals have been the subject of two lawsuits in Wisconsin and another in Ohio.

The dog that attacked Comegys, 15-year-old Annabelle, has received medical treatment nine times for injuries she sustained in fights with other Rottweilers that Benson owns.

Benson testified Tuesday that Annabelle and two other female Rottweilers that live with him are disciplined dogs that sometimes become defensive when the others infringe on their food or their space. He said the dogs bring a sense of family to his life that was lacking while he grew up in Midland in a single-parent home.

The incident occurred in July 2016, when Benson and Comegys were both preparing to walk their dogs in a neighborhood off of RM 2222 near MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1). Comegys, as she often does, was watching her ex-husband's 7-pound Maltese, Carson. Comegys' attorney Brooks Schuelke said Annabelle escaped with little warning through Benson's open garage door and approached her and her dog, bringing Comegys, who's 5 feet tall, to the ground.

The nearly 100-pound dog bit her arm, causing Comegys to go to the hospital and receive 12 to 14 stitches in addition to treatment for injuries to her hands, elbow and shoulder. A social worker testified that Comegys also suffered from mild anxiety and moderate depression as a result of the attack.

Carson's intestines were ripped in the attack and underwent an operation to reconnect his bowels, Comegys said. Testimony about those injuries was excluded from the trial.

After the incident, Austin's Animal Protection conducted a hearing and determined Annabelle was dangerous. The designation means Benson is required to get liability insurance for the dog and maintain a secure enclosure in his yard. He has since moved from the neighborhood where the attack occurred.

The nine women and three men on the jury heard little in the trial about Benson's football career beyond some questions about their familiarity with him during jury selection on Monday. One member of the jury panel was dismissed by Judge Howell after he revealed his fandom for UT's football team and said he could not be impartial.

Benson, 35, played for the Longhorns from 2001 to 2004 and accumulated the second-most rushing yards in program history, a mark that still stands today. He was selected fourth overall by the Chicago Bears and went on to play eight seasons in the NFL.