The Road To St. Louis' Historic $790 Million Settlement Win Against The NFL

Four years after St. Louis filed suit against the NFL and its 32 teams, a settlement of $790 million was reached in November 2021. The lawsuits alleged that the Rams and the NFL violated relocation protocols and breached their contract with the city when they moved the team to Los Angeles in 2016 by not complying with their own relocation policy guidelines.


According to the complaint, despite the fact that St. Louis met the contractual guidelines and protocols of the Policy, the owners disregarded the policy when it stood in the way of their desired result: relocating the Rams to LA.


In connection with the lawsuit, multiple team owners and NFL officials, including commissioner Roger Goodell, were deposed and a judge had required several owners to turn over personal financial information ahead of the scheduled trial.



How the settlement happened


The two sides claim potential damages from this case from two completely different points of view.


St. Louis has demanded at least $1 billion in damages, which included lost tax revenues, relocation fees, and a request for punitive damages. On the other hand, NFL views the claims as legally unsupportable, and the only damages that they were willing to consider at that point were the out-of-pocket expenses. The league said the guidelines aren't iron-clad and that they had the right to approve a move that was clearly in the interest of the NFL and the owners of its 32 teams.


The case was supposedly scheduled to go to trial on January 10. St. Louis Circuit Judge Christopher McGraugh ruled in July that there was sufficient evidence that NFL and Rams owner Stan Kroenke and others engaged in fraud. As a result, he ordered NFL owners to release financial records to allow a jury to consider punitive damages if Kroenke and the NFL lost the lawsuit.


Eventually, the NFL agreed to pay $790 million to settle the lawsuit filed. Kroenke tried to narrow the scope of his liability in the case, but he is expected to reimburse the NFL for most or all of the settlement amount.


With The Jones Law Firm, you always have an option for your legal battles. Our firm operates on the contingency fee model, which means we only get paid if we win for you. No upfront fee, no being charged for any kind of costs or fees during the case. So no matter your financial situation, you can always afford top-quality legal representation.


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