Even before the Super Bowl, a battle that could affect the Saints' offseason began in New Orleans. Things turned extremely ugly and public after the family of Saints owner Tom Benson, 87, filed a lawsuit claiming that he was unfit to run his NFL and NBA franchises.
Recently, Benson changed his succession plans regarding who would take over the team should he die or be unable to lead the franchise. Out are grandchildren Rita Benson-LeBlanc and Ryan LeBlanc and daughter Renee LeBlanc. In is his current wife of 10 years, Gayle Benson.
At one point, Benson-LeBlanc was a shoe-in for the public face of the post-Benson Saints. That changed in January of this year when Benson cut Rita and the others out of the ownership circle.
San Antonio Judge Tom Rickhoff ruled that the elder Benson would need assistance managing his assets on Monday, Feb. 9. Meanwhile, key dates for the team loom only a few weeks away. The biggest of those key dates is March 10 when free agency begins. If the Saints are going to chase one big-name free agent, they will need to clean up the ownership situation to OK spending a big chunk of change.
Due to the Saints' cap situation, they were nearly in the same spot last season when they signed safety Jairus Byrd. The team must also be under the cap by March 10 when the new league year begins.
Next on the docket, the NFL draft starts on April 30. Luckily, New Orleans hasn't really needed the ownership's blessing before making picks in the past. However, if they want to make a big trade during the draft, they might need an owner to sign off.
It seems like there has been nothing but drama surrounding the Saints' offseason for the last five years or so, and this is just another distraction. For a team that is watching its championship window close, it would be nice to have even one offseason where all the focus is on football rather than bounties, salaries or ownership. While most fans won't care about the Benson family drama right now, the winner of this court case will shape the future of the Saints franchise.
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