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A story the NFL wants buried is back again, and this time the nuisance came with an invitation that can’t be ignored. That’s the thing about those pesky notices of depositions. You can’t just hope they go away.

It has been nearly 40 months since the city and county of St. Louis and the dome authority sued the Rams, the NFL and its other teams alleging breach of contract, fraud, illegal enrichment and interference in business in an attempt to recoup damages for the time and money lost during St. Louis’ attempt to win the NFL’s rigged relocation game.

Now we know, thanks to motions filed in St. Louis Circuit Court on Friday, the names Team STL wants to hear from first. The list is long enough that it came with a request to expand both the number of depositions that can be completed, and the amount of time allowed for four of them. Those on it received word via email on Friday.Ìý

Old friends such as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Rams owner Stan Kroenke and Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff made the cut, obviously. These three, along with former NFL executive vice president Eric Grubman, are the A-team. They make up the group Team STL has requested some extra time with.

Because of a law passed last year, lawyers in a case like this must receive the court’s approval to conduct more than 10 depositions. They must also receive the court’s approval if they want to extend one of the depositions beyond one seven-hour day. Team STL wants Goodell, Kroenke, Demoff and Grubman, the former relocation point man during the relocation rip-job, for two seven-hour days a piece. Oh, and Team STL also wants to conduct 38 other depositions.

No joke.

And that request probably will be approved, considering the scope of the lawsuit covers years and includes 90 named defendants.

“The individuals sought to be deposed are named parties to this case and have important information central to the issues at stake in this action,� states the motion. “By the NFL’s own admission as confirmed by relevant meeting minutes, the noticed individuals were present for the relocation vote and know what was said and done before and during that meeting. Additionally, some were members of the NFL’s Los Angeles Opportunities Committee that was tasked with responsibility concerning a possible relocation of one or more clubs to Los Angeles. Each proposed deponent possesses unique, relevant evidence that Plaintiffs cannot obtain by any other means.�

Reading the full 42-person deposition list, the mind races.

Team STL wants to depose those who have unique insight to the NFL’s repeated warping of its own relocation guidelines to justify the outcome that prioritized potential profits over the work St. Louis did to keep its football team, including the millions spent on a plan for a new stadium.

Team STL wants to know who knew what, and when, from the first time Kroenke spoke through his mustache about the plan to return the team to California, to the moment a cowardly secret ballot conducted by league owners green-lighted Kroenke’s dream for a massive stadium in Inglewood. (Remember, that came after the league’s LA relocation committee initially recommended a joint venture in Carson, Calif., between the Raiders and Chargers.)

Team STL wants to find out how the half-truths and outright lies hold up under oath when compared to a) the relocation guidelines’ demands that teams work in good faith to stay where they are, and b) the information already unearthed during months of discovery.

What will Goodell and Silent Stan have to say now that they finally are forced to talk? How many revealing slip-ups might Demoff commit, considering he tends to put his foot in his mouth even when there aren’t lawyers waiting to pounce?

And that’s just the A-team. Check out the bench.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Kroenke’s biggest ally during the move, is on the deposition list. A man who has convinced himself he knows everything sometimes doesn’t know when to stop talking.

Chargers owner Dean Spanos, the league’s good soldier who went from being Kroenke’s competitor to his Inglewood tenant, is included as well.

So is Raiders owner Mark Davis, who is happy to have wound up in Las Vegas, but has a knack for saying what he wants when he wants, which likely will cause NFL lawyers to lose sleep.

Former Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson is present. He’s no fan of Kroenke’s, and now he’s out of the league, and perhaps less interested in the company line.

The NFL owners St. Louis wished it had, Michael Bidwill and Shahid Khan, are included. Hopefully they tell the truth.

Expect the scheduling of these depositions to be fought against. Every inch Team STL has gained during this process has been flagged by Kroenke’s legal team. But whether the review has come via Circuit Court or U.S. Supreme Court, Team STL has won and continued to move the ball. Attempts to limit the records made available for discovery were stiff-armed. A campaign to steer this case toward closed-door arbitration was hurdled. The only way this thing stops now is either settlement or jury trial, and one is scheduled for October 25, 2021.

The outcome of these depositions will influence whatever end result arrives.

On a rainy Monday here in St. Louis, imagining the curse words muttered across the league as email inboxes were checked a few days earlier felt like finding a little slice of sunshine.

You can find the full deposition list here.Ìý