NFL to pay $790 million to settle Rams’ relocation dispute

The NFL has reached a $790 million settlement with the city of St. Louis and others related to the relocation of the Rams to Los Angeles five years ago. 

The New York Times reported that Rams owner Stan Kroenke is expected to reimburse the NFL for most, if not all, of the settlement.

“Today, St. Louis City, County, and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority signed a $790 million settlement agreement with Rams owner Stan Kroenke and the National Football League,” St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said in a joint statement Wednesday.

“This historic agreement closes a long chapter for our region, securing hundreds of millions of dollars for our communities while avoiding the uncertainty of the trial and appellate process,” they added. 

The NFL confirmed in a statement that it had reached a settlement and thanked former Judge Jack Garvey for acting as mediator but did not specify the settlement’s price tag.

A spokesperson for the Rams directed The Hill back to the NFL’s statement.

According to a complaint, the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority along with both the city and county had spent millions of dollars trying to retain the Rams by planning a new stadium with the encouragement of the owners of other NFL teams, the Times reported. 

However, according to the complaint, the NFL disregarded those efforts, while team owners voted to allow the team to move to California, the paper noted.

The settlement caps off a years-long dispute between league officials and local parties to settle the relocation of the NFL team. The Times noted that in the late 1980s, St. Louis also lost the chance to host the NFL’s Cardinals, currently in Arizona.