On Monday morning, New York Giants owner John Mara discussed the NFL's looming return to Los Angeles with WFAN 660 radio. During their conversation, Mara said he believes that there will be two teams in Los Angeles before the 2016 season. This marks a change from Mara's earlier comments on the matter in March when he said there would be "one or two" teams in Los Angeles next season. Mara is one of six owners on a committee tasked with exploring L.A. options for the NFL.
This isn't a big surprise for NFL fans. The league has always been interested in returning to L.A., the country's second biggest media market. But Mara's recent comments are more definitive than anything we've heard in recent months and seem to confirm that two teams will be heading out West in the near future.
The St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers have long been rumored to be the front runners for relocation. In fact, Rams owner Stan Kroenke even has plasn to build an Inglewood stadium. The Raiders and/or Chargers are currently putting feelers out for other L.A. based locations. Just yesterday, a judge ruled that the "construction of a riverfront football stadium does not need voter approval in the city before using city tax dollars." This ruling seems poised to expedite the relocation process of an NFL franchise.
We won't know for sure which franchises are moving until later this year or perhaps early 2016. As of now, there is another round of owners meetings scheduled for Aug. 11 to discuss the matter. But it seems likely that the Rams are the top choice for relocation at this point.
