NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue "answered reporters
questions for nearly an hour" yesterday and "most of them
had to do with free agency, revenue-sharing, stadium
controversy, expansion and franchise relocation," according
to Tom Silverstein of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL.
During the press conference, Tagliabue "chose to blast free
agency." Tagliabue: "Most of the financial issues come from
free agency. Costs have escalated greatly, and some can
deal with it and some can't. ... A low-revenue team has to
make hard decisions forced on it by another team" (MILWAUKEE
JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/14). Tagliabue added that the league is
"pondering ways to provide bonuses for rookies who perform
well rather than just slot them in the current rookie salary
scale." He "emphasized that the plan is still in its
formative stages" (AP/PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 3/14).
ST. LOUIS SUIT: As Tagliabue "painted a rosy picture of
the state" of the NFL yesterday, the ST. LOUIS POST-
DISPATCH's Jim Thomas notes "there is that little matter of
the Rams and that antitrust lawsuit against the NFL in St.
Louis." Although the plaintiff is not the Rams, but rather
the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC),
which operates the TWA Dome, "you'd have a hard time
convincing league owners of the legal distinction." Bears
Chair Ed McCaskey: "You don't sue your partners. I resent
it." The suit against the league is centered around a $29M
relocation fee assessed St. Louis before the NFL approved a
move from L.A. The Raiders moved three months later to
Oakland "without any such fee." The suit "creeps closer and
closer" to a fall trial date at U.S. District Court in St.
Louis. Thomas reports that Rams President John Shaw met
with NFL officials in Palm Desert, but "at the moment, there
appears to be no settlement in sight." Shaw: "The reality
is, it's not our lawsuit. It's the CVC's lawsuit." Thomas:
"Try telling that to club owners, especially since the Rams
will share in any financial award that results from
litigation or an out-of-court settlement." Shaw: "That's
caused a lot of anger and resentment among the owners" (ST.
LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/14).
