ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - After hours of negotiations with a mediator on Tuesday, the plaintiffs from St. Louis and the defendants with the NFL and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke are reportedly close to agreeing on a settlement.
The deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday and the figure could be as high as $800 million, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.
Although there have been reports that St. Louis could be awarded upwards of $2 billion in damages by a local jury, one reason for agreeing to a settlement would be avoiding a drawn-out appeals process. Which would give the NFL and Kroenke a chance to once again squirm away from St. Louis' grip.
If no settlement is reached, a public trail is scheduled for Jan. 10 in a St. Louis courtroom.
St. Louis, St. Louis County, and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority first filed this lawsuit in 2017, claiming Kroenke and the NFL ripped the team from St. Louis in violation of the league’s relocation guidelines. The suit was originally thought to net St. Louis about $18 million at best, but more recently some believe – including an LA Times report – that the winnings could actually reach $4 billion.
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Representation for the Rams and the NFL have tried to get it moved from St. Louis, claiming they won't get a fair trial. They've gone all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, but failed at every step.
Kroenke is reportedly causing some division among NFL owners as he may not be holding up his end of the bargain over the St. Louis relocation lawsuit.
The estimated $10 billion man signed an indemnification agreement with the NFL and all its owners when he convinced them of relocating the Rams to Los Angeles. The deal meant that he would pay for essentially all legal fees, settlement or punitive damages if anyone was sued over the move. The St. Louis region filed an estimated $1 billion lawsuit in 2017.
But now, Kroenke is challenging that agreement, as the bills are reportedly over $10 million each for some teams.
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