AROUND THE BLOCK
News with a Twist
NFL Approves Rams Move Back to LA
Raiders denied – bragging rights at issue
In a surprise move, NFL
owners officially approved the move of the St. Louis Rams back to Los Angeles
in a plan that includes the building of an almost $2-billion stadium complex in
the Inglewood area near LAX.
The move stunned San
Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos who had banked on the league approving his
plan to move the Chargers (along with the Oakland Raiders) to a new stadium
facility near Carson, wherever that is.
Spanos, a
multibillionaire, could barely conceal his anger and disappointment at the decision,
saying, “Look, I’m a multibillionaire, which clearly no longer carries any
weight in this league. Just because Stan Kroenke (Note: Kroenke is the Rams
owner, married to a Walton heiress) is 10 times richer than I am doesn’t mean
he just gets what he wants. I guess you have to be a multi-multibillionaire to
get your way in the NFL.”
Spanos does have the
option of joining Kroenke and the Rams in Inglewood in a year, but given his
obvious jealousy of the far richer man, such a move is considered slim.
Left out in the cold were
the Oakland Raiders, whose owner, Mark Davis, said, “We’ll see where the Raider
Nation ends up. We’ll be working really hard to find us a home, and that’s what
we’re looking for. So for our fans and everything else, don’t feel bad. We’ll
get it right, all right.” It is not clear whether Davis has hired former San
Francisco 49er coach Jim Tomsula to write his press releases as Davis’ statement had a remarkable resemblance to Tomsula's language clarity.
The approval of the Rams’
plan won by an overwhelming 30-2 vote and came after the league’s Committee for
Los Angeles Opportunities had voted for the Charger/Raider/Carson proposal by a 5-1
margin. Given that, two questions arose: 1) What was the purpose of having a
Committee for Los Angeles Opportunities; and, 2) Who were the three owners who
voted for the Carson plan in committee but then supported the Rams/Inglewood plan in the subsequent vote? Rumors of a
A high-ranking NFL source,
speaking on the condition of anonymity,
disclosed that the real reason that the owners went for the Rams’ plan was due
to bragging rights. Raider owner Mark Davis is the son of the late Al Davis who
sued the NFL several times and is still vilified by the league and the other owners.
Allowing the Raiders to move to Los Angeles a second time would have tied the Raiders
with the Rams (after the upcoming move from St. Louis) for the most moves, three, by a
franchise, a bragging right the owners wanted to deny the hated Davis family.
For reference, the graphic below charts the most franchise moves in modern NFL history. (Please note, this chart does not include the 49ers move from San Francisco to Santa Clara, the Patriots from Boston to Foxborough and the Giants and Jets from New York to New Jersey as those actions are still being reviewed by the NFL's Committee on Moving Opportunities as to whether they should be considered "moves" or "partial/semi-moves." Given that the Giants/Jets crossed interstate lines, it is considered more likely those actions will be considered "moves" in order to avoid Congressional involvement.)
For reference, the graphic below charts the most franchise moves in modern NFL history. (Please note, this chart does not include the 49ers move from San Francisco to Santa Clara, the Patriots from Boston to Foxborough and the Giants and Jets from New York to New Jersey as those actions are still being reviewed by the NFL's Committee on Moving Opportunities as to whether they should be considered "moves" or "partial/semi-moves." Given that the Giants/Jets crossed interstate lines, it is considered more likely those actions will be considered "moves" in order to avoid Congressional involvement.)
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