In the second week of the St. Louis Convention and
Visitor Commission's (CVC) $130M antitrust suit against the
NFL, CVC lawyers "tried to prove that the league has acted
arbitrarily and inconsistently in charging relocation fees,"
according to William Lhotka of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH.
On Tuesday, the jury watched a videotape interview of former
NFL Exec VP/General Counsel Jay Moyer explaining the
league's process in determining fees for previously
relocated teams. He testified that the Raiders and Colts did
not have to pay a fee when they relocated during the early
80s, but that the NFL levied a fee against Cardinals Owner
Bill Bidwill when he moved from St. Louis to Phoenix in '88.
Lhotka adds that Bidwill's fee was paid "more than three
years after the league approved the move," and the $7.5M he
paid "was the result of negotiations with the NFL, not from
a specific formula the league adopted." CVC attorneys
argued that the next NFL relocation fee assessed against the
Rams was for $46M, $29M up front and $17M over 15 years.
The CVC "says the league conspired to force St. Louis into
paying too much to get the Rams." During the trial, the NFL
has stated that it is "blameless and has accused the Rams of
greediness" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/15).