Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke forced to pay huge £600m lawsuit over NFL dispute after moving Rams out of St Louis

ARSENAL supremo Stan Kroenke will have to pay $790 million (£592m) to settle a lawsuit over the Los Angeles Rams' departure from St Louis.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Kroenke and the NFL agreed to pay close to £600m and will avoid the spectacle of a trial in St Louis next month, just before the Super Bowl.

The lawsuit was filed in 2017 and alleges that the team’s move to Los Angeles violated the league's relocation policy, under which the club and the NFL should have made every reasonable effort to keep the team in St Louis, who are set to receive the sum by Christmas Eve.

The settlement says no party acknowledges liability and the Rams made no immediate comment, whereas the NFL said in a statement it appreciated “the effort by all parties to reach a settlement.”

The mayor of the city of St Louis and the county's executive said in a joint statement the settlement “closes a long chapter for our region, securing hundreds of millions of dollars for our communities while avoiding the uncertainty of the trial and appellate process.”

They added that they are “still determining” what to do with the money they are about to receive by next month.

St Louis sought damages up to $4 billion (£3bn), including payment equivalent to the relocation fee and the increase in franchise value resulting from the move to LA.

It has been claimed Kroenke signed an indemnification agreement with the NFL that obligated him to pay the “costs, including legal fees and other litigation expenses,” to defend any challenge to a move.

But the 74-year-old has informed fellow owners he does not believe the legal “costs” covered under the indemnity extend to damages.

This comes not too long after Kroenke came under fire by Arsenal fans after agreeing with other major football clubs to form the controversial European Super League.

However, the Gunners' majority shareholder splashed the cash in the summer and completed six transfers that cost an excess of £100m.

Those signings have helped the north Londoners climb to fifth place in the Premier League table after an awful start to the campaign.

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