$6B Giants, Jets Lawsuit Demands Teams Cut NY Ties, Embrace 'New Jersey' Name: Report

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — The football fans behind a $6 billion class-action lawsuit that originally called for the Jets and Giants to leave New Jersey for New York have lowered their demands. The plaintiffs say the teams can stay in the Garden State, but they must rebrand to reflect their true location in the Garden State, according to the New York Post.

The lawsuit, filed in January, stemmed from fans' frustrations with the NFL teams' New York branding, despite the franchises playing and operating in New Jersey. The class-action complaint originally demanded that the Giants and Jets return to New York when their contract with MetLife ends in 2025, and that the teams rename themselves the New Jersey or East Rutherford Jets and Giants as long as they play in Bergen County. Read more: Fan Files Lawsuit Against Jets, Giants For Use Of 'New York'

Both teams play at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. The Giants also train at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center next to the stadium, while the Jets practice at the Atlantic Health Training Center in Florham Park. The Giants left the Empire State for the Meadowlands in 1976, and the Jets followed eight years later.

"MetLife Stadium is located in the swamps of East Rutherford, NJ … , which has a population under 10,000, the 116th largest city in New Jersey," says the amended lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court. "It’s not exactly an exciting and romantic destination[,] and the Giants, Jets and MetLife Stadium have absolutely no connection whatsoever with the city, county or state of New York."

Plaintiffs Abdiell Suero and Maggie Wilkins insist that false advertising and other deceptive practices duped them into believing the teams still played in New York, the New York Post reports. They paid good money to watch the teams play in MetLife Stadium, only to learn after they bought the tickets that the game was in East Rutherford, according to the Post.

The class-action lawsuit seeks to represent anyone "tricked" by the teams' marketing since 2016 into attending NFL games in New Jersey, the Post reports.

The Jets and Giants filed legal papers April 25, seeking the suit's dismissal and insisting the teams' "continued use of ‘New York’ as part of their team names is not misleading at all — it merely refers to the teams’ hometown."

The teams will continue their tradition of playing the Snoopy Bowl in their final preseason game of the season Aug. 28. And yes, the game is in MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Read the Post's full report here.