Kroenke is being splattered and smashed this week.
Many of the other 31 NFL owners are acting like they never knew this would become a financial issue even though they voted for Stan and his Rams to be allowed to move from St. Louis to Los Angeles.
This is silly to me. Most if not all of the owners knew this could get ugly. I stand behind Kroenke and his lawyers. Give St. Louis their cry baby chunk of cash and move on... This is not surprising to me at all. This is grandstanding and the other NFL owners are just playing along. This was clever by the NFL to leak that they won't help Stan pay the bills.
They will help Stan pay the bills and this all politics to end the law suit sooner than later.
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Los Angeles Rams owner
Stan 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.
ESPN reported that in an owner's meeting this week – the first in-person meeting since 2019 due to the pandemic – owners were informed of Kroenke attempting to back out of his promise. It "angered" and "stunned" many in the room.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stood up for Kroenke, saying he had "done a lot for the league," according to the report. But other owners, like Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots and John Mara of the New York Giants say they've already dealt with too many legal issues over the lawsuit and that they wouldn't have approved the relocation without the indemnification agreement.
The report also says that Jones indicated Kroenke may sue the NFL over the deal – which is similar to what Jones did in 1995 over a sponsorship deal.
The St. Louis lawsuit is set to go to trial on January 10 in a St. Louis courtroom.
The suit filed by St. Louis, St. Louis County and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority claims the NFL violated its own relocation rules by allowing the Rams to leave St. Louis.