On Thursday morning, the Hall of Fame/NFL made a settlement offer to fans who attended a Hall of Fame Game that wasn’t played. Lawyer Michael Avenatti, who filed the lawsuit that sparked the enhanced refund policy, wasn’t impressed by the move.
“Once again, the league is trying to get off cheap with their fans,” Avenatti said. “Our offer of $450 per fan stands and is more than reasonable. It is a drop in the bucket for a league that pays Goodell $45 million a year and receives $14 billion in annual revenue. The fans should get what Goodell gets -- cash, not commemorative photos, copies of yearbooks, etc.
“If Goodell, the owners and other league execs will take photos, yearbooks, tickets, etc. for the next year in place of cash, so will the fans. We are not holding our breath.”
The offer from the Hall of Fame/NFL also includes the face value of tickets and “all processing, shipping and handling fees, pre-paid parking purchased through the Hall of Fame, pre-sale reservation fees, and one night of hotel accommodations to eligible fans, subject to appropriate review, approval, and verification.”
Avenatti applied an August 19 deadline to the offer of $450 per customer with no fees for the lawyers. The league has not yet directly responded to Avenatti; Thursday’s move likely means the NFL won’t be accepting the offer.