Stan Kroenke is facing a whopping $571million (£504m) payout with NFL owners expected to approve a resolution over the Rams’ fiercely disputed relocation from St. Louis to Los Angeles.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) own a host of teams across the world including Arsenal in the Premier League. The majority of their portfolio is based in North America however, including the reigning Super Bowl champion Rams.
They lifted American Football’s biggest prize earlier this year, doing so inside their new purpose-built stadium in Inglewood, California. The Rams relocated to the west coast back in 2016, having spent the previous 21 years in Missouri.
As part of the relocation process the city of St. Louis filed a lawsuit against both the league and the Kroenkes, claiming it cost the region millions of dollars in amusement, ticket and earning tax revenues.
That four-and-a-half-year suit was settled last year at a cost of $790m (£698m), but the make-up of the payment has remained contentious between the 32 NFL owners. It is understood that $219m was made up from the remaining franchises and ESPN report the final allocation will come from KSE themselves.
The NFL owners are due to meet in New York on Tuesday, where the league will waive the league’s limit on allowable debt in order for Kroenke to make the payment. News from Stateside comes with their English concern top of the Premier League after a near-faultless start to the season.
Mikel Arteta’s side are four points clear at the summit, having won nine of their first 10 games of the new campaign. The Spanish boss has been backed in the transfer market in recent years, with the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira arriving in the most recent window.
Success on the pitch has cooled the criticism of the club’s American owners, who were the subject of angry protests in the wake of the failed European Super League proposals. Stan’s son Josh has become a more public face of the ownership, holding regular talks with the manager and offering more transparency to fans.
In a lengthy message to supporters at the end of last season, Josh Kroenke said: “What you have done this season is unite behind the team.
“Unity is a key word around the club – you will hear Mikel use it frequently – and there has been unity, from our supporters to our players, unity within our coaches, and unity amongst everyone across the club. It’s a big positive that’s only going to help us in the future.
"It feels like there’s a young, fiercely loyal group of fans coming through, alongside those who have been with us for many seasons.
“We’re a club that has an amazing history and you can hang your hat on that and also, we can build our club on that, but some of our younger supporters weren’t around for the amazing glory years which is what we are chasing today, with the help of all of you.
He added: “As a club we need to make sure we are buying well, players who can elevate us in terms of quality but also players who are right from the perspective of culture and mentality and I think that showed on a number of occasions this season.
