City Of Los Angeles - Pro Football Rumors

Raiders Notes: Stadium, Future, McKenzie

November 20th, 2014 at 4:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Hours before the Raiders host the Chiefs and look to notch their first win of the 2014 season, let’s check in on the latest updates on that 0-10 club in Oakland….

Speaking to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Raiders owner Mark Davis expressed that he doesn’t want to get caught up in an “endless cycle” of one-year lease extensions with the O.co Coliseum in Oakland. However, even though he’s acknowledged that Los Angeles and San Antonio are possible options for the franchise, Davis’ primary goal is to get a new stadium built in Oakland.
Davis on the stadium situation: “We are trying everything possible to get something done in Oakland right on the same exact site we’re on right now. And I’d say 99% of my interests and energy are going towards getting something done there. That’s really the crux of it right now. People want to know about the other sites and there are always options. But we want to get something done in Oakland.”
As Rapoport details in a second piece at NFL.com, Davis also gave a strong endorsement to general manager Reggie McKenzie, despite the fact that the Raiders haven’t won a game in more than a year. Pointing to this year’s draft class – including Khalil Mack, Derek Carr, and Gabe Jackson – as a success for McKenzie, the Raiders owner said that, while Tony Sparano may be an interim head coach, McKenzie isn’t an interim GM.
More from Davis on McKenzie: “We are in really good shape, based on the way Reggie put all the contracts together and everything else. We’re not settled with a lot of upside-down situations anymore. The situation he walked into originally was pretty tough. The deconstruction phase of that went very, very well. I think we’re a pretty desirable place for someone that wants to come in and build.

NFL In LA: Jaguars Staying Put

November 16th, 2014 at 11:47am CST by Rory Parks

The Jaguars are staying put in Jacksonville and will not be heading to Los Angeles, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. When former Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver sold the team to Shad Khan in 2011, there were rumors that the Jags could be on the move to the West Coast. However, Khan has quieted that talk, stating “Actions speak louder than words and [Jaguars fans are] finally seeing the actions match the talk.” Those actions, as O’Halloran points out, include Khan’s stated commitment to Jacksonville, a stadium lease that does not expire until 2030, and the $63MM in stadium enhancements that debuted in late July (Khan himself paid for $20MM of those enhancements).

But with NFL football apparently destined to remain in Jacksonville for the foreseeable future, rumors about the respective fates of the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders continue to swirl. As Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today writes, there could be as many as two spots available in Los Angeles, and each of the those three franchises “is driven by concerns that it could be stuck in its current market in an undesirable situation while the other two party up in their new shared palace.”

Of course, despite recent media reports that suggest the relocation of at least one franchise to Los Angeles is imminent, there are a number of obstacles to clear before that can happen, obstacles that Schrotenboer describes in great detail. One consideration that the league will take into account is the relative revenue gain it can anticipate from moving one or more teams to LA. San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the country, whereas Oakland and St. Louis are the 45th and 58th largest, respectively. As such, the league would have less to gain by a Chargers move than it would if the Rams or Raiders were to leave their current homes.

Nonetheless with the Jaguars essentially out of the picture, fans in St. Louis, Oakland, and San Diego have a little more reason for concern.

New Roadblocks For Los Angeles Move

November 11th, 2014 at 8:29pm CST by Zachary Links

Teams with interest in moving to the Los Angeles market have long been eyeing the available property at Inglewood’s Hollywood Park. However, the asking price is currently sky high and that could be another roadblock for the Raiders, Rams, and Chargers as they consider a possible move to the country’s No. 2 media market. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter links) hears that Terry Fancher of Stockbridge Capital has asked for $500MM+ for the valuable property. One source told Cole he asked for more than $600MM for the land at one point. That’s a steep price, especially when considering that he paid just $260MM for it in 2005.

Cole tweets that if the land is purchased for even ~$300MM, that has to be added to the cost of building a brand new stadium, which would likely cost $1.5 billion. Add in the relocation fee which could be as high as $500MM (link), and the Hollywood Park site becomes far less palatable than it appears to be on the surface. The Rams and Raiders have looked into HP, but the Chargers have yet to do so. The Raiders have circulated a proposal around the Inglewood area in hopes of getting financing for a stadium, but that is considered “iffy, at best,” according to Cole (Twitter links).

Meanwhile, Chargers exec Mark Fabiani tells Nick Canepa of U-T San Diego that while the club wants to stay in San Diego, it has been forced to remain open to other possibilities.

“For nearly 13 years now — a period in which San Diego has seen seven different mayors — the Chargers have explored every possible stadium issue locally, and we continue that work now with Mayor Faulconer,” Fabiani said. “At the same time, the Chargers are prepared to do whatever necessary to protect the 30 percent of the team’s local revenue that now comes from the Los Angeles and Orange County markets. “It would be economically devastating to the Chargers if one of those teams is allowed to return to the L.A. market while the Chargers are trapped in an aging and outmoded stadium in San Diego.”

Extra Points: Sanchez, Palmer, Cofield, 49ers

November 10th, 2014 at 10:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As the Eagles and new starting quarterback Mark Sanchez continue to dominate Cam Newton and the Panthers, let’s look at some notes from around the NFL…

The NFL is considering pushing back the window for franchises to apply for relocation, reports Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal (link via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). The current period begins on January 1, but the league may want to move it back to February 2 (the day after the Super Bowl) so that news of potential relocations doesn’t overshadow the playoffs. If the Raiders or Rams want to to move to Los Angeles, the process will likely be delayed until the postseason is complete.
Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap examines what Sanchez’s half-season tenure as the Eagles’ QB will mean for his future earnings, noting that the ex-Jet is capable of producing similar statistics to Andy Dalton, who earns $16MM annually. Additionally, Fitzgerald looks at Sanchez’s potential effect on Nick Foles‘ future, Jeremy Maclin‘s free agency prospects, and Rex Ryan, John Idzik, and Chip Kelly’s reputations.
In a separate piece, Fitzgerald breaks down Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer‘s three-year, $50MM extension, explaining that after 2015, the contract enables Arizona to decide yearly if they want to retain Palmer. Though he’s posted better numbers than either Jay Cutler or Alex Smith, Palmer’s two-year cash value is lower than either of those QBs, but Fitzgerald attributes that fact to Palmer’s age.
Washington defensive tackle Barry Cofield will be activated from IR-DTR this week, tweets Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Therefore, the club will need to make a roster move by Wednesday in order to clear a space.
We learned earlier today that the Santa Clara County DA’s office won’t file domestic violence charges against 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald, and as expected, the NFL doesn’t believe it has a basis to punish McDonald, either, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).

West Notes: LA, Aldon Smith, Chiefs, Cards

November 9th, 2014 at 3:21pm CST by Dallas Robinson

We learned late last night that Inglewood, California mayor James Butts had announced that he would meet with Rams owner Stan Kroenke, whose 60-acre patch of land in Inglewood (which is within Los Angeles county) has been rumored as a potential site for an NFL stadium. Butts declined to confirm if the Kroenke meeting has taken place, but sources tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com that Butts has spoken with executives from both the Rams and the Raiders. This news jives with a La Canfora report from last month which indicated that a team could be playing in Los Angeles as early as next season. Any club looking to relocate to southern California would need to declare its intention to move by mid-February, per La Canfora. Here’s more from the NFL’s two West divisions.

49ers linebacker Aldon Smith‘s suspension wasn’t reduced today after he failed to complete the counseling requirements attached to the ban, but the dynamic pass-rusher is facing even more bad news. Because of the multitude of salary and bonus forfeitures that go along with a suspension, Smith will effectively pay San Francisco to play in 2014, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Smith will earn just 8/17 of his $1.099MM base salary, which amounts to $525K. He also forfeits $1.18MM in bonus money, meaning that he owes the 49ers $661K.
The Chiefs believe they have satisfied the requirements to bid on a Super Bowl, owner Clark Hunt tells Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. Kansas City has agreed to give up one home game to play in London at some point in the near future, a stipulation for Super Bowl hosting hopefuls that NFL owners recently agreed to.
In his latest mailbag at ESPN.com, Josh Weinfuss sees a possibility that the Cardinals could add a power back, such as Ryan Mathews or Mark Ingram, during the offseason to pair with Andre Ellington. If backup Marion Grice impresses over the second half of the season, however, he could fill that role in 2015.

Rory Parks contributed to this post.

NFC Notes: Rams, Cowboys, Foles, 49ers

November 5th, 2014 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

As rumblings about a potential Rams move to Los Angeles persist, the city of St. Louis and the state of Missouri are taking a proactive approach to attempt to keep the franchise in the midwest. As Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com details, Missouri governor Jay Nixon spoke to reporters on a conference call today to discuss the city’s and state’s plan to keep the Rams. According to Nixon, former Anheuser Busch president Dave Peacock and local attorney Bob Blitz have been appointed to spend the next two months putting together options for the city’s next stadium solution. The team’s current lease on the Edward Jones Dome expires at season’s end.

“Make no mistake about it, St. Louis is an NFL city,” Nixon said. “Being an NFL city is a matter of civic and state pride and one of international significance. An NFL team in St. Louis sends a clear signal that this city is a worldwide player and sets it in a special class when it comes to a competitive, global marketplace. The economic impact of the Rams team in St. Louis extends long beyond Sunday afternoon and sends a clear signal that this city is a worldwide player.”

Here are a few more Wednesday items from across the NFC:

Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant, who hired Roc Nation Sports to represent him as he approaches free agency, will be repped by CAA’s Tom Condon and Roc Nation’s Kim Miale, tweets Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal.
Appearing on The Ticket KTCK-AM 1310 in Dallas, TheMMQB.com’s Peter King suggested he thinks running back Adrian Peterson will play for the Cowboys at some point. While he stressed that he doesn’t have any inside info, King said that he’s always viewed it as a likely scenario, even before “Jerry [Jones] had that silly flirtation with him last year” (link via the Dallas Morning News).
Following up on a report suggesting that the Eagles were souring on Nick Foles even before his injury, Howard Eskin of 94WIP (Twitter link) says he spoke with multiple team sources and was told the Eagles never discussed making a change to Mark Sanchez prior to Foles going down with a broken collarbone. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily contradict yesterday’s report, which seemed to suggest the club was considering longer-term alternatives to Foles, rather than a short-term change.
Although running back Marcus Lattimore never played a game for the 49ers, the team paid him his full salary during his two years on the non-football-injury list, and won’t try to recoup any of his $300K signing bonus, says Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). According to Rapoport, Lattimore will also seek payment on his $1.7MM disability policy, and has a “great chance” of receiving that.

La Canfora’s Latest: Smith, Trestman, London

November 2nd, 2014 at 9:31am CST by Dallas Robinson

As he does most every Sunday, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com has provided several interesting nuggets in a series of articles before today’s slate of games. Let’s dive right in…

Falcons head coach Mike Smith is not expected to return in 2015, writes La Canfora, who notes that owner Arthur Blank is expected to target a high-profile name to take Smith’s place. La Canfora speculates that Jon Gruden and Jim Harbaugh could both be candidates for the Atlanta job, and while it’s just my speculation, it’s fair to wonder if Blank would try to lure ex-Steelers coach Bill Cowher away from his broadcasting gig.
After the Bears suffered an embarrassing loss to the Patriots last week, some in the organization believed head coach Marc Trestman’s job was in jeopardy. Bears ownership eventually stated a vote of confidence in Trestman, but sources tell La Canfora that the Chicago locker room is devoid of leadership. Additionally, general manager Phil Emery’s roster construction, particularly the decision to extend Jay Cutler at an exorbitant price, has come under fire around the league.
There’s no truth to a recent report that the NFL wants to play five games in London in 2015, according to La Canfora. However, the league is confident it can schedule games in London on consecutive weekends next year. Last week’s 9:30am EST kickoff was well-received in the league offices, meaning such early start times could be seen again in 2015 (Twitter link).
The NFL has scheduled a special meeting for its stadium and fiance committees for later this month. Relocating a team to Los Angeles isn’t officially on the docket, but sources tell La Canfora that the matter is expected to be discussed.
Bills receiver Sammy Watkins has been steadily improving in 2014, and mere rookie progression might not be the only reason. Watkins, the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, was playing through broken ribs during the early portion of the season.
Browns tight end Jordan Cameron will likely miss the next two games with a concussion, and sources tell La Canfora that because this Cameron’s third concussion, both his short- and long-term future are uncertain.

Latest On Los Angeles Relocation

October 26th, 2014 at 7:21pm CST by Zachary Links

With more teams than ever prepared to move to Los Angeles as soon as the 2015 season, there have been ongoing semi-regular conference calls taking place between small groups of owners and NFL officials regarding the topic, team and league sources tell Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Many of the NFL’s most influential owners are bullish on getting franchises to L.A. as soon as possible, including Jerry Jones and Bob Kraft.

The Rams and Raiders are both said to be eyeing a move to Los Angeles as well as the nearby Chargers and the league appears to be working hard to make that a reality for at least one of the teams. For the past six months or more, there have been a series of calls between select owners and the NFL office discussing the array of plans and potential stadium projects in the area. The NFL has also begun surveying fans in that area about their willingness to spend certain thresholds of money on personal seat licenses and seasons tickets should teams relocate to LA.

La Canfora hears it’s not out of the question that two teams could announce their intent to move to Los Angeles for the 2015 season by the February deadline if certain hurdles are cleared. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk recently reported that the Rams are the frontrunners, but they could also be splitting the nation’s No. 2 media market with another team.

NFC West Notes: Rams, Seahawks, Spiller

October 20th, 2014 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

Things are getting interesting in the NFC West after the Rams‘ upset win of the Seahawks yesterday, as last year’s Super Bowl champs now sit at 3-3, two games behind the division-leading Cardinals. Besides playing catch-up to Arizona, the Seahawks will also have to deal with the 4-3 Niners, who have been up and down so far this season but should have defensive reinforcements, including NaVorro Bowman and Aldon Smith, returning in the second half.

As we look forward to seeing how one of the league’s most competitive divisions plays out, let’s round up a few items from out of the NFC West…

While the Chargers and Raiders are viewed as candidates to move to Los Angeles, the Rams are considered the favorites to relocate, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who writes that Stan Kroenke‘s piece of land at Hollywood Park would become the most likely location for a new stadium if the Rams were to head west. Florio also adds that the Chargers’ concerns about splitting the Los Angeles market could likely be resolved if the Rams or Raiders moved to L.A., perhaps by giving San Diego a larger piece of the relocation fee.
The Percy Harvin trade, which was reported less than 48 hours before the Seahawks‘ game on Sunday, played a part in Seattle’s loss to the Rams, according to wideout Doug Baldwin (link via Terry Blount of ESPN.com). “Obviously the shock of the transaction and what took place there made for a bit of an emotional roller coaster,” Baldwin said. “When something that drastic happens, right before we get on the bus [to go to the airport for the trip], there is going to be an emotional impact. I felt we handled it to the best of our ability, but I think it might have been a factor in some way.”
There had been whispers around the league that the Seahawks had worked out a deal to acquire running back C.J. Spiller from the Bills, but a “well-placed source” tells Tim Graham of the Buffalo News (Twitter link) that’s not true. Of course, now that Spiller has suffered a broken collarbone and will miss the rest of the season, it’s a moot point anyway.

Extra Points: Hayne, Los Angeles, Smith

October 14th, 2014 at 10:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Australian rules football star Jarryd Hayne is leaving his team to pursue his NFL dream, writes Cameron Tomarchio of News.com.au. While there were rumors circulating that Hayne had a deal with the Seahawks, the 26-year-old said that he doesn’t have a pact with any NFL team. Hayne says that he has a 12-month plan to make it in the NFL and the 26-year-old is likely eyeing a future as a running back and/or special teams player. Hayne must be serious about playing in the NFL, because he was on the verge of becoming the AFL’s highest paid player. More from around the NFL..

The Los Angeles City Council has given developer AEG another six months to bring the NFL back to the nation’s second-largest city, as The Associated Press writes. Los Angeles hasn’t had an NFL franchise since losing the Rams and Raiders after the 1994 season.
In a memo to players, NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith said the union huddled with the NFL for four hours today on revising the personal conduct policy, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. The two sides agreed to meet again soon.
The NFLPA has put together a group of eleven outside experts from a variety of industries who will provide recommendations on how to tackle domestic violence and other issues facing the league, writes Pelissero. While both sides have the same stated goal on the issue, there’s still a fair amount of chippiness between the league and the union. “This was designed to get it right,” Smith said. “We took those names to the league. We’re waiting to see who they want to be a part of it. But that’s the way we’re going to move forward.”

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