And now we'll never know

The Bensons are saying they have reached a settlement.

New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson has finalized an agreement settling the federal lawsuit he filed almost two years ago against the officials overseeing a group of trust funds benefiting his estranged relatives, it was announced Friday.

Kyle Schonekas, who represents one of the trust officials, said the agreement's paperwork is in the process of being filed. A second source with knowledge of the case also confirmed that paperwork finalizing the agreement had been drawn up.

Terms weren't made available, but Friday's news resolves a dispute that largely centered on non-controlling, non-voting shares in New Orleans' NFL and NBA franchises.

It comes three days before the case was set to go to trial, a prospect that prompted attorneys for the NFL and the NBA to serve notice Thursday that the leagues wanted U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of New Orleans to seal certain pieces of "commercially sensitive" evidence from public view. There was widespread speculation that evidence could shed light on exactly how much money NFL and NBA teams — among the most lucrative businesses in the world — are actually making.

So we still don't get to look at the books.  We also don't get to see the details of Benson's mental competency evaluation so the whole thing has become a big dud. There's always hope that the terms of the settlement won't hold up. This has happened before. So keep your fingers crossed, I guess.