The NFL has a history of winning in court. Lately, it hasn’t been.
On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied a request by the league for an “en banc” (full court) review of the August 2025 decision from a three-judge panel denying the NFL’s effort to push pending legal claims filed by former Dolphins coach Brian Flores against the NFL, the Giants, the Broncos, and the Texans to arbitration.
Last week, the Nevada Supreme Court denied the NFL’s request for rehearing of the full-court decision to allow former Raiders coach Jon Gruden’s lawsuit against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell to proceed in court, not arbitration.
In September 2025, Flores filed a separate motion with the federal trial court handling the case for reconsideration of the original order sending Flores’s claims against the Dolphins to arbitration. Flores focused on the portion August 2025 appellate decision invalidating the Commissioner’s ultimate control over arbitration claims filed against the NFL. It also argued that the arbitration process has been at a “complete standstill” since November 2024.
The September 2025 motion includes the claims of Steve Wilks against the Cardinals and Ray Horton against the Titans.
The Flores case was filed in February 2022, with Wilks and Horton later joining the litigation. The lawsuit has still not moved to the merits of the dispute, more than three-and-a-half years later.
Flores currently serves as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, and Wilks was hired earlier this year to be the Jets’ defensive coordinator.
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