Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

The Buffalo Bills will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday at Ralph Wilson Stadium in a preseason matchup, but they will be without the services of their cheerleading squad, the Buffalo Jills.

According to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, the cheerleaders are absent due to a lawsuit that will carry into the regular season:

The Jills are unique in that a production company (SteJon Productions), not the Buffalo Bills, oversees and manages the cheerleading squad. On April 25, WRGZ-TV (h/t USA Today) reported that SteJon Productions President Stephanie Mateczun suspended Jills operations indefinitely. Per the report:

This development comes two days after five former cheerleaders filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against SteJon Productions, Citadel Broadcasting -- which previously operated the Jills -- and the Buffalo Bills, claiming the defendants failed to pay the Jills in accordance with state minimum wage laws.