Supreme Court punts appeal over Raiders relocation

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Oakland’s bid to collect more than $240 million in damages from the National Football League and its 32 teams for allowing the Raiders franchise to relocate to Las Vegas in violation, according to the jilted California city, of federal antitrust law.

The justices turned away Oakland’s appeal of a lower court ruling in favor of the NFL and the Raiders, which moved to Las Vegas for the 2020 season. Oakland, which the Raiders previously left in order to play in Los Angeles only to return 13 years later in 1995, had sought monetary damages but was not demanding that the Raiders be forced to return to the city.

Oakland in 2018 sued the NFL and its teams, including the Raiders, accusing them of violating U.S. law on anti-competitive practices.

The city’s complaint demanded $240 million in damages for lost tax revenue and funds invested in the team’s stadium, the Oakland Coliseum.