Somewhere, Al Davis is smiling...he milked billions (literally) out of the taxpayers of Oakland, LA and Oakland (again).
The Rams have sucked St. Louis dry, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them return to LA. And of course, the Jacksonville Jaguars keep complaining about the travails of being in the NFL’s smallest market, etc.
I’m continually amazed at cities that give pro sports owners a veritable license to print money (through stadium deals, tax breaks and other advantages), then complain when they don’t share in the revenue bonanza.
In the words of Mr. Gump, “Stupid is as stupid does.”
One more thought: if I were betting on the most likely NFL team to decamp for LA, my money would be on the Lions. Playing in a bankrupt city with dismal economic prospects is not exactly a recipe for success. But then again, the Lions are owned by a member of the Ford family, so they’ll probably stay in Detroit until he passes on.
Detroit may be broke, but their suburbs are some of the most affluent in the country.