The dispute between the Rams and the city of St. Louis has been going on for years. Now owner Stan Kroenke is threatening to drag the rest of the league deep into the payment quagmire as well.

Munich – The dispute between the Los Angeles Rams, the former hometown of St. Louis and the NFL has now spanned several years. The city is concerned about “wasted money” that was put into the franchise and its infrastructure before the move.

Billions in damages are being discussed in some cases. It is finally due to go to court on 10 January 2022.

The NFL will have to defend itself with the 32 owners against the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County and the Regional Sports Facilities Authority.

In the process, the NFL owners, who actually don’t have that much to do with the case, could be left out in the cold. According to the Sports Business Journal, Rams boss Stan Kroenke is currently working on his own settlement with the plaintiffs.

NFL: Rams may believe in $500 billion to $750 billion deal

An email reportedly indicates that the Kroenke camp believes in a $500 million to $750 million deal. This would let the multi-billionaire off the hook for the time being, but it also pits him heavily against his colleagues.

The 31 other team owners are of the opinion that Kroenke alone must pay the entire settlement. This is according to a compensation agreement that the 74-year-old is said to have signed after the move.

If Kroenke gets his deal through, the remaining owners would still have to go to court in January. The Rams boss would only not make good on his threat if the other teams agreed to share the costs and he didn’t have to pay it all himself.

NFL: Rams threaten league

“If we continue to get no assurances regarding a split of the damages, we will have no choice but to settle the case on behalf of the Rams and Mr Kroenke only,” the email is said to say. “We don’t want that. We demand everyone’s participation – or an assurance from the league that a settlement will be fairly apportioned,” the Sports Business Journal quote.”

By late October, “ESPN” had already reported that Kroenke would not keep his promise to take on the settlement independently for the entire league. The compensation agreement would not be able to force him to do so and would not stand. He would only pay the legal fees.

Some team owners, meanwhile, would believe that the lawsuit, if lost, could involve costs in the billions. If the NFL does not come to an agreement with Kroenke on splitting the payments, Kroenke could be doing the league a disservice.

NFL: Kroenke and Rams could get a bargain with their own deal

With their own out-of-court deal, “CBS Sports” calculates, of, say, $200 million for the plaintiffs, they would have a starting point in court against the remaining owners. If all the other teams then had to pay $200 million as well, St. Louis would come out of the litigation with a total of $6.2 billion in damages.

This would make a settlement almost a bargain for Kroenke before the actual trial and also very promising financially for the city.

The NFL doesn’t have much time left to make a decision. The Rams are scheduled to hold mediation talks on 23 November. By then, the league should be in agreement on whether to share in the payments.