ESPN's Monday Night Football is up eight percent over last season.

The 17-game prime-time package averaged 11.647 million viewers compared to 10.788 million last season and 11.390 million in 2016. 

The most-watched game was the Nov. 17 matchup between Kansas City and the Los Angeles Rams, which attracted 16.7 million viewers. 

New Orleans was the highest-metered market with an average rating of 14.4, followed by Norfolk, Virginia, (11.6); Richmond, Virginia, (10.9); Kansas City (10.6); and Denver (10.1).

The NFL and NFL Players Association have asked the administrator of their independent drug-testing program to look into allegations by Eric Reid.

Reid believes he's been targeted due to his political actions for an abnormal number of drug tests. Reid has been tested seven times since signing in late September.

While the NFL and NFLPA stand by their position the tests are random and they have no influence on who gets tested, they have asked that John Lombardo look into the matter with the number of tests raising eyebrows.

"I guess there was something about some mathematician saying it's highly improbable, but definitely possible," Carolina coach Ron Rivera said last week. "But I'll say this: If my name came up that many times, I'd buy a lottery ticket."

The city of Oakland has filed a lawsuit against the Oakland Raiders and the NFL seeking damage for what it classifies as an illegal move to Las Vegas.

The city’s statement on the lawsuit referred to the NFL as a “cartel” and cited a relocation fee that required the Raiders to pay the NFL and its owners $370 million to move to Las Vegas.

The East Bay Times reports that the team and stadium authority were in the midst of negotiations for next year and potentially beyond if delays in the new Las Vegas stadium warranted an extra year in Oakland.

The Raiders have vowed to leave early if the city followed through on its threats of legal action.

“The Raiders demand language that assures them the city will not file a lawsuit against them,” Coliseum authority executive director Scott McKibben previously told the Times.

The NFL has informed all 32 teams that projections for the 2019 salary cap are in the range of $187.0 million to $191.1 million.

The cap projection marks a 40 percent increase over the five years since the 2014 season when the cap was at $133 million.

Total projected player costs, including benefits, will be more than $7.3 billion in 2019.

The Kansas City Chiefs have released star running back Kareem Hunt, a decision that came after video surfaced earlier Friday that showed him shoving and kicking a woman in February.

The team announced the move Friday night. Minutes earlier, the NFL had announced that Hunt, 23, had been put on the commissioner's exempt list.