NFL Bills settle text case

THE BUFFALO BILLS reached a settlement with fans who say the team sent them too many texts, agreeing to issue debit cards for the Bills store worth $58 to $75 each.

Along with the $2.5 million worth of cards, the Bills will pay $562,000 in legal fees under terms of a class-action settlement approved by a federal court in Florida last week.

Bills fan Jerry Wojcik, of Tampa Bay, Fla., brought the case in 2012 after signing up to get Bills alerts on his cellphone. He says the Bills routinely exceeded the promised limit of five messages per week, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The complaint said the extra messages were aggravating and an added cost for consumers who pay for texts and data.

Wojcik said he received six messages one week, including three on a single day, and seven messages in another week.

The Bills, who initially moved to dismiss the lawsuit, maintain the program complied with the law, according to a statement provided to the Associated Press.

In other NFL news:

* Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson announced that he and his wife Ashton are divorcing. Wilson made the announcement in a statement released by the Seahawks. The pair married in January 2012 after he finished his college career at Wisconsin and before he was drafted by the Seahawks. The couple had been visible at Seahawks events for his first two seasons in the league.

* A judge in Phoenix sentenced Arizona Cardinals inside linebacker Daryl Washington to a year of supervised probation for assaulting a former girlfriend who is the mother of his daughter. Washington, one of the team's top defensive players, will wait to see what punishment he may face from the NFL under its personal-conduct policy. He was suspended the first four games of last season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

* The NCAA placed Wisconsin-River Falls on probation for a year, saying the Division III school failed to monitor the scholarship process and also allowed a former head football coach to be involved in arranging financial-aid packages.

* TCU wide receiver Brandon Carter has been charged with marijuana possession following a traffic stop.

* Former NBA star Tracy McGrady signed to pitch for the Sugar Land (Texas) Skeeters in the independent Atlantic League. The 6-8 righthander reported to spring camp last week and made his first scrimmage game appearance against Alvin Community College on April 16. In an inning of work, McGrady allowed one run on three hits with no walks and no strikeouts.

* Greg Norman and Joe Buck will call the U.S. Open when it moves to Fox next year. NBC's last U.S. Open will be at Pinehurst No. 2 in June.