The Oakland City Council and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors are "in talks with a pair of out-of-town law firms looking to sue the NFL and the Raiders" for upward of $500M over the team’s impending move to Las Vegas, according to Matier & Ross of the S.F. CHRONICLE. City Councilman Noel Gallo said, "It wouldn't cost us anything." The law firms "approached the city and county with the idea of filing an antitrust suit against the league and the team." Lawyers from the firms -- Berg & Androphy in Houston and Weil, Gotshal & Manges of N.Y. -- "recently flew to Oakland and asked local officials to add up how much they expect the Raiders' exit will cost taxpayers." Gallo "estimated the total losses could be as high" as $500M. But Gallo said that the law firms have "agreed to take on the expense, which could run into the millions." Gallo added that the firms also have "agreed to represent the city and county if the Raiders or the NFL countersue." Gallo said that at least three other members of the eight-person City Council are "ready to support the lawsuit, which some backers also hope to use as leverage to gain a new franchise when the Raiders leave," probably after the '20 season. But City Council President Larry Reid "isn't one of them." Reid said, "I don't see how you get a judge to force the NFL or the Raiders to pay off that bond indebtedness when it's our debt. And if those who want us to join this suit think the NFL is going to commit to awarding another football franchise to Oakland, I don't think they live in the real world" (SFCHRONICLE.com, 3/14).
