Bills fans win preliminary approval in lawsuit, could receive $2.4M

Bills fans were reportedly supposed to receive only three to five texts per week for a period of 12 months. (Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

Who says it doesn't pay to be a Bills fan?

A federal court in Tampa, Fla. has issued preliminary approval for a settlement that could potentially pay out approximately $2.4 million to Buffalo Bills fans, according to a report Tuesday from Darren Rovell of ESPN. 

The class action lawsuit, filed in 2012 by Bills fan Jerry Wojcik, contended that the franchise violated consumer protection laws by sending out more text messages to its fans than is allowed per those regulations. If approved at a final hearing scheduled for Aug. 20, fans who received the over abundance of texts could receive debit cards to be used at the team store on the organization's official website.

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According to Rovell's projections, the Bills would have to pay a total of $2.4 million to all 39,750 who voluntarily signed up for the text message service. The debit cards would range in value from $57.50 to $75, according to Rovell, and will be valid for four years. The report on Tuesday also states that the Bills will have to pay approximately $562,000 to Wojcik's lawyers for his attorney fees, as part of the settlement. Wojcik said he had signed up for the text message service expecting three to five texts per week for up to 12 months, but had in fact received text messages more frequently than was stated in the terms and conditions, according to Rovell.

The Bills maintain their position that the team did not violate any rules or regulations, a stance that will ultimately be decided upon at the final hearing this summer.

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