Jon Gruden has beaten the NFL in the Nevada Supreme Court.
Jon Gruden has beaten the NFL in the Nevada Supreme Court.
His case against the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell will be litigated in court.
The Nevada Supreme Court has sided with former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden in his lawsuit against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell as of Monday, August 11, 2025. The court ruled that Gruden cannot be forced to participate in the NFL’s private arbitration process and that his case can proceed in court.
Gruden resigned from his job as Raiders head coach in 2021 after a New York Times report exposed his email exchanges with former Washington Football Team executive Bruce Allen, among others, that showed his use of racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language.
Gruden sued the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell in 2021, accusing them of plotting to destroy his career via a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” by leaking those emails. The emails surfaced from an investigation into the Washington Commanders and then-team owner Dan Snyder.
The lawsuit argues that Gruden was targeted in the alleged leaks and that “there is no explanation or justification” for why the correspondence of others in the league was not exposed.
Gruden had previously vowed that “the truth will come out” regarding unnamed others around the NFL.
In 2022, Nevada 8th Judicial District Court Judge Nancy Allf denied the NFL’s effort to dismiss the lawsuit and ruled the case could continue in open court.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy dismissed Gruden’s lawsuit as meritless after the district court ruling and vowed to appeal.
“The allegations are entirely meritless and the NFL will vigorously defend against these claims,” McCarthy’s 2022 statement reads.
The NFL has since made multiple attempts to strike down the lawsuit, arguing that a clause in Gruden’s contract with the Raiders requires him to seek dispute settlement via arbitration.
Gruden’s attorneys have argued that the clause doesn’t apply since he is no longer an employee of the Raiders and that his dispute is with the NFL, not the Raiders.
