Football fans across the country should welcome Oakland’s lawsuit challenging the monopolistic practices of the NFL and its 32 teams.
It won’t keep the Raiders in the East Bay, but frankly they’ve outstayed their welcome. However, if the city prevails, other cities would have stronger negotiating power to hold onto their teams.
And Oakland might recover money to help pay off about $80 million of debt the Raiders are leaving behind for taxpayers. The money was used for publicly funded alterations to the Coliseum that the Raiders demanded in 1995 as a condition of returning from Los Angeles.