Gruden’s Clash with the NFL: What the Latest Ruling Means

Former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has been in a battle with the NFL for quite some time. Gruden, in his lawsuit against the NFL, claims that the NFL leaked emails that were damaging to Gruden. And that they forced the Raiders to make Gruden step down as the Raiders' head coach during the 2021 season.

The situation got another update earlier this week.

"The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously rejected the NFL's petition seeking a rehearing of an August decision that said former Raiders coach Jon Gruden could not be forced into league arbitration in his lawsuit alleging the league leaked damaging emails to the media before he resigned from the team in 2021," said Don Van Natta Jr of ESPN.

Oct 4, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden talks with quarterback Derek Carr (4) during the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Jon Gruden vs The NFL

"All seven justices signed the order rejecting the league's petition for a rehearing."

"The last legal resort left for the NFL is an appeal for the U.S. Supreme Court, which sources with knowledge of the situation have told ESPN is likely. A league spokesperson declined to comment Thursday night."

"As a former employee, Gruden should not have been bound by the provision in the NFL constitution mandating arbitration for such complaints, the court ruled."

"By its own unambiguous language, the NFL Constitution no longer applies to Gruden," the justices wrote. "If the NFL Constitution were to bind former employees, the Commissioner could essentially pick and choose which disputes to arbitrate."

Sep 28, 2025; Dublin, Ireland; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stands on the sidelines prior to a game between the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers during an NFL International Series game at Croke Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"Gruden is seeking monetary damages, alleging that selective disclosure of the emails and their publication by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times ruined his career and endorsement contracts."

Gruden's attorney, Adam Hosmer-Henner, said Thursday that "we're obviously pleased with the decision."

"I'm looking forward to having the truth come out and I want to make sure what happened to me doesn't happen to anyone else," Gruden told ESPN. "What happened wasn't right, and I'm glad the court didn't let the NFL cover it up."

Aug 21, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden gestures to referees during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Gruden has been out of coaching in the NFL but he has not been out of football. He has since started going on social media and talking and teaching about the game. We have seen him on different podcasts throughout the years and Gruden has talked about getting back into coaching sometime in the near future.

'Las Vegas attorney Sam Mirejovsky of the Sam & Ash Law Firm wrote this opinion on the case and shared it with Raiders On SI exclusively:

"Gruden’s lawsuit against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell is the real deal," reported Carpenter.

"Now that a Nevada district court judge has ruled the case can proceed in open court and not through a confidential arbitration process, the entire situation has become significantly more dire for the defendants."

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