Los Angeles doesn't long for the NFL.
But commissioner Roger Goodell had made no secret he has hungry eyes for the City of Angels. His plan to turn the NFL into a $25 billion business by 2027 probably hinges on returning the league to its massive West Coast market.
“Neither the NFL nor Los Angeles has needed one another to the point that a strategic relocation would make economic sense for all involved,” said David Carter of the Sports Business Group.
Carter, who founded that Los Angeles-based consulting/marketing firm, said “all of that has changed” because of the tenuous stadium situations involving the St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. Each once considered Los Angeles its home.
Probably two will in the future. Recent NFL owners meetings focused on the league's future in Los Angeles.
The league reportedly has set a Feb. 15 relocation deadline, and a new stadium could be built for joint tenants for the 2018 season.
But the NFL is not looking for lame ducks.
The owners view a return to Los Angeles as the golden goose, though, exclusively as part of franchise relocation, Carter said. By moving existing teams to Los Angeles, the league can charge significant expansion fees for expected advancement into international markets such as England, Germany and perhaps Mexico.
The NFL does not have a team in three of North America's four most populated cities (Mexico City, Toronto and Los Angeles). That has been the rule since Christmas Eve 1994, when the Raiders and Rams last played in their respective Los Angeles-area stadiums.
For 1995, the first of 20 consecutive years without a team in Los Angeles, the NFL generated about $1.7 billion. The league has projected $12 billion in revenue for the 2015 season.
So, even if he loves L.A., does Goodell need the United States' second-biggest television market?
Its actions seemingly speak volumes.
“The NFL, for its part, wants to micromanage the process in order to ensure long-term stability,” Carter said.
“A successful relocation of a constrained franchise solves two of the league's problems while simultaneously increasing team and league revenue provided the team is well-run in a market as fickle as Los Angeles.”
Rob Rossi is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at rrossi@tribweb.com or via Twitter @RobRossi_Trib.
