Former Buccaneers and Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s lawsuit against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell continues. And, as Gruden sees it, the potential financial damages will be very significant.
In a Case Conference Report filed on Wednesday, February 4, Gruden’s lawyers revealed that his losses “total well over $150,000,000.” The damages flow from, per the Case Conference Report, “loss of his employment, interference with future employment opportunities, loss of contract value, loss of sponsorships, reputational damage, costs, expert fees, and attorney fees incurred as a result of this dispute.”
Gruden filed the lawsuit roughly a month after his forced resignation from the Raiders, following reports from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times containing emails Gruden had sent and received while employed by ESPN. Those emails had been harvested as part of an investigation regarding the Washington Commanders and former owner Daniel Snyder. Gruden contends that the emails were leaked with the specific goal of prompting the termination of his employment.
The Case Conference Report was prepared following an “early case conference” in which the NFL declined to participate. The league, we’re told, contends that discovery in the case has been stayed pending the appeal of a denial of a motion to dismiss under the Nevada anti-SLAPP statute.
In the Case Conference Report, a copy of which PFT has obtained and reviewed, Gruden’s lawyers list in the form of mandatory disclosures the potential witnesses in the case. They include: Goodell, various attorneys from the Paul Weiss law firm, former NFL general counsel Jeff Pash, chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, Snyder, former Raiders general counsel Dan Ventrelle, Raiders owner Mark Davis, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, attorney Beth Wilkinson, various attorneys from the Reed Smith firm, Desiree Perez of Roc Nation, former NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith, and Gruden.
The Case Conference Report does not expressly indicate that any, some, or all of these individuals listed will be deposed by Gruden’s lawyers, and it does not mention any current attempts to compel their deposition testimony.
The Case Conference Report lists several specific NFL teams that have potentially relevant information: the Commanders, Raiders, Cowboys, Patriots, Seahawks, Giants, Jets, and Dolphins. It does not identify any of the reporters from the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times.
In a separate portion of the Case Conference Report, Gruden’s lawyers list various documents that they contend the NFL should disclose “immediately.” The documents include all 650,000 documents generated during Wilkinson’s investigation of the Commanders and a so-called “‘Blackmail Powerpoint’ presented by Daniel Snyder and/or Reed Smith to the NFL Defendants, containing communications by Roger Goodell and Jeff Pash.”
The Case Conference Report also states that no settlement discussions have occurred.
It remains unclear whether the NFL has filed, or plans to file, a petition for appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the question of whether Gruden should be required to pursue his claims through arbitration controlled by the NFL.
The case has been pending for more than four years, due mainly to the preliminary skirmishes regarding the arbitration question. At some point, depositions will occur and documents will be obtained — unless the case is dismissed or settled.
