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With the NFL apparently not inclined to accept the settlement offer made Monday by lawyer Michael Avenatti on behalf of all customers attending the Hall of Fame Game, by virtue of the competing offer made by the league, Avenatti apparently assumes the litigation will proceed.

Avenatti, consequently, has sent a letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell and Hall of Fame president David Baker instructing them preserve “electronically stored information and other evidence in your possession, custody or control as well as in the possession, custody or control of the NFL and/or the Hall of Fame,” including their “personal cell phones.”

The letter, a copy of which PFT has obtained, includes excerpts from an exchange between Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Goodell during Brady’s appeal hearing, and it explains that Avenatti has “considerable reason to believe that there are incriminating text messages relating to the cancellation of the game, which show that fans were purposely not told of the cancellation in a timely manner.”

Avenatti doesn’t specify the content of the incriminating text messages. However, he undoubtedly will want to examine texts sent and received in the hours leading up to and following the cancellation of the Colts-Packers game in Canton.

The 10-page letter contains detailed instructions regarding the preservation of electronic evidence, and it requests confirmation by August 25 that steps were taken to preserve the requested information.