Rams settlement negotiations will likely land with a mediator if the parties involved do not agree on how to split $790 million, according to a local ESPN sportscaster.
“I can totally understand how the city and the county should get equal amounts," said Randy Karraker,101 ESPN Radio morning host. "St Louis county probably feels like they should get as much as the city. The one that has me baffled a little bit is the RSA, which is a city agency funded by city taxpayers. So, I don't know how or why the RSA is arguing for a larger chunk of the settlement than was suggested to them. If I were a mediator, the RSA would get less than the city and the county."
Karraker was reacting to the recent news that St. Louis, St. Louis County, and the Dome authority, known as the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority (RSA), have been arguing over settlement, which sits in escrow until there is an agreement.
“One of the things that came out of last week's negotiation was that that money right now is not being invested to its greatest benefit," Karraker told the St. Louis Record. "There are several people involved with the negotiations that suggested we should put this money into a spot where it can earn a lot more than what it's doing for us right now."
The Rams played at The Dome at America’s Center, which RSA owns until the NFL surreptitiously relocated the team to Los Angeles, which is at the core of the litigation.
As previously reported, St. Louis city officials accepted $790 million to settle the case against the NFL and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke last year. The lawsuit had been simmering since it was filed in 2017.
"I think everybody wants more than what has been discussed so far and the chairman of the RSA, who was just put into this role within the last couple of months is Reverend Earl Nance," Karraker said. "He said last week that these negotiations could drag on until the end of the year because they just can't reach an agreement as to who should get what."
The fees of the firms representing the city plaintiffs, Dowd Bennett and Blitz Bardgett & Deutsch, amount to $276.5 million.
"The lawyers that got that large chunk of this money are still arguing over how much each is going to get for their part," Karraker added. "So, I would think that when you get to this much money, $790 million overall, and $550 million for the city, the county and the RSA, there is bound to be some disagreement and it'll be a difficult negotiation."