ST. LOUIS — A federal judge has ruled that the NFL’s Rams must grant season tickets to some people who bought personal seat licenses while the team was still in St. Louis, even though the team is now in Los Angeles.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. also said Wednesday that the Rams must refund deposits for other people who bought PSLs in St. Louis. About 46,000 people had PSLs, which give the holder the right to purchase season tickets, for the St. Louis Rams, some at a cost of up to $1,000.
David Bohm, attorney for some of the plaintiffs, said the ruling was vindication for St. Louis PSL holders.
“The Rams tried to exit without making any payments to any of the PSL holders,” Bohm said. “They had no obligation to the fans who supported this team for 20 years. The judge found they did owe an obligation.”
In January, NFL owners approved the Rams’ move back to Los Angeles after 21 seasons in St. Louis. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the Rams would appeal. A team spokeswoman declined comment, citing the ongoing litigation. Messages left with team attorneys were not returned.
The Rams argued that their move to LA terminated PSL agreements sold in St. Louis. PSL holders contended that not only were the licenses still valid, but that they also had the right for season tickets in Los Angeles.
Though St. Louis-area fans might seem unlikely to travel nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) for football games, resale of PSLs or season tickets could be lucrative once a planned $2 billion stadium in Inglewood, California, is ready in 2019.
Limbaugh’s ruling differentiates between PSL contracts sold by the Rams directly, and those sold by their ticketing agent, FANS Inc.
The FANS contract states that a relocation of the team terminates the contract. The judge ruled those PSL holders have the right to refunds, but no rights to season tickets or PSLs in Los Angeles.
But contracts sold directly by the team do not state that the PSL agreement ends due to relocation, Limbaugh said.
The Los Angeles Rams, who are playing in the Coliseum until the new stadium is ready, are 1-1 this season.
Peterson has surgery
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings say Adrian Peterson underwent knee surgery Thursday morning for a torn meniscus, and no additional issues were found.
The team called Peterson’s surgery successful. He injured his right knee in Sunday night’s game against Green Bay.
It’s not clear whether the Vikings’ all-time leading rusher will return this season. The team has held off putting him on injured reserve and gave no update on his expected return in their statement Thursday on the surgery.
Falcons sign Schofield
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Outside linebacker O’Brien Schofield believes one week of practice will have him ready to play in the Falcons’ game at New Orleans on Monday night.
Schofield, who started 10 games with Atlanta in 2015, re-signed with the Falcons on Thursday to address a sudden depth problem at linebacker.
Schofield, a fourth-round pick by Arizona in 2010, played for the Cardinals and Seattle for five seasons before signing with Atlanta last year. He had 28 tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble last season.
Atlanta inside linebacker Paul Worrilow had groin surgery on Thursday and will be out indefinitely. Also, rookie outside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell’s status for Monday night’s game at New Orleans is uncertain. Campbell, who opened the season as a starter at outside linebacker, missed last week’s win at Oakland with an ankle injury and did not practice on Thursday.
Coach Dan Quinn said no timetable has been set for Worrilow’s return. Philip Wheeler was moved from outside linebacker to play behind starting inside linebacker Deion Jones. Quinn said Worrilow’s injury and Wheeler’s move created the need to sign Schofield.
Bears promote Barkley
The Chicago Bears have promoted quarterback Matt Barkley from the practice squad to their 53-man roster, a transaction that seems to shed additional light on Jay Cutler’s status for Week 3.
Cutler left Monday night’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles with a sprained thumb and was unable to practice Wednesday as the Bears began preparations for Sunday’s game in Dallas.
The expectation all along has been that Cutler would miss the game against the Cowboys with Brian Hoyer taking over as the starter for the immediate future. The full timeline for Cutler’s absence remains hard to determine. But the promotion of Barkley would seem to be a tell that the 26-year-old quarterback would be Hoyer’s backup Sunday night with Cutler almost certainly inactive.
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