Mike Florio: Growing Sense That It Will Be Chargers, Rams That End Up In L.A., With Raiders Left Out
(CBS) Despite its many warts, the NFL is as popular as ever, and the second-biggest market in America doesn't even have a team.
That won't last for long. The Chargers, Raiders and Rams are all angling to move to the Los Angeles area, perhaps as early as 2016. The Chargers and Raiders have pitched a joint facility to be built in Carson, Calif., and Rams owner Stan Kroenke has bought land in the Inglewood neighborhood that's ready to be developed.
For his part, ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio believes it will be the Chargers and Rams that wiggle their way into the L.A. market, with the Raiders left on the outside looking in.
"Everything is kind of on hold right now publicly," Florio said in an interview on 670 The Score on Wednesday morning. "Wheels are moving behind the scenes. There's an emerging sense that how this will play out is that Inglewood, Hollywood Park as the winner of the location over Carson and Rams, Chargers as the two teams playing in Inglewood with the Raiders the odd man out. That's the sense right now. It goes completely against the way the planets are aligned, because it's Rams in Inglewood and Chargers-Raiders in Carson. I think at some point, though, the Chargers are going to say to the Raiders, 'Hey, thanks for your help in trying to get to L.A. -- sorry you can't get to L.A., have fun in Oakland. We'll see you twice a year on the field.'"
The move to Los Angeles is fueled by the lack of tax-payer money available to build stadiums in other markets, Florio said. If owners have to finance their own stadiums, they will be apt to go to bigger markets where more people and opportunity leads to a bigger cash flow, Florio added.
Listen to Florio's full interview below as he talks all things NFL.