Rams relocation suit could turn into team owner civil war

For the NFL and owner Stan Kroenke, the watershed moment has arrived in the Los Angeles Rams relocation lawsuit.

With a trial set to begin on January 10, the whiff of a courtroom war is in the air. Not only between the city of St. Louis and the NFL, but possibly between Kroenke and his fellow team owners. And this week looks very much like the tipping point. If the NFL owners pull back, it likely means they’ll write a very big check and agree to share the pain of the financial uppercut Kroenke appears destined to absorb.

But there’s another possibility: that this entire thing is going to turn into an all-encompassing battle with multiple fronts. An outcome that would essentially guarantee an every-franchise-for-themselves breakdown and the wildest spate of legal haymakers since Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the NFL went to war over sponsorship deals back in 1995 and filed lawsuits against each other totaling over $1 billion.

Yes, this could all go that badly, to the point that Kroenke and the league’s other owners could suffer a staggering court judgement and end up suing each other over who is ultimately responsible for the financial wreckage. 

Then again, everyone involved could also come to their senses and figure out a settlement — which is precisely what may happen in the next few days.

In a nutshell, Tuesday is slated to begin a window of mediation between the NFL and a collective of plaintiffs, including the city of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority. At issue is a four-year-old lawsuit brought against the NFL, its owners and Kroenke for breach of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment and other allegations tied to the Rams’ relocation to Los Angeles.

To date, the courts have largely sided against the NFL, setting up a trial in St. Louis that could ultimately render a massive judgement against both the league as a whole and Kroenke and other owners involved in the process of approving the move. With…