With several NFL teams (including the Chargers) interested in moving to Los Angeles, Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune looks at the concept of relocation fees, the money that a club will have to pay to the league in exchange for changing cities. Per Canepa, the owners haven’t formalized the price tag of moving just yet, but he hears that it could be anywhere from $250MM to $500MM. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains, commissioner Roger Goodell has the “discretion to adjust the transfer free based on the NFL’s interest in encouraging the move or discouraging the move,” so if the league is in favor of a team moving to LA, the fee could conceivably be (relatively) modest.
Let’s take a look at some more notes from the West divisions:
- In an in-depth piece on teams’ departures effect on cities, Jonathan Horn of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports cities that lose teams pay more to bring football back than keeping their existing franchises. Houston, which lost the Oilers after the 1996 season, topped the list in paying $519MM to spawn the Texans. St. Louis, Baltimore, Cleveland and Houston averaged just more than $225MM in costs for their respective new stadiums. So while a club like the Chargers could vacate its home city, its conceivable that San Diego fans could yearn for an NFL return in due time.
- The Broncos made it a priority to bring in players who were familiar with new head coach Gary Kubiak‘s offensive scheme, a strategy that is especially evident along the offensive line, writes Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. Center Gino Gradkowski and guard Shelley Smith, acquired via trade and free agency respectively, each have a history with both Kubiak and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison.
- With this year’s draft less than four weeks away, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com examines who could be available to the Cardinals with the 24th pick, noting that the club could be in a position to take the best player available. Weinfuss points to Stanford tackle Andrus Peat and Kentucky edge rusher Bud Dupree as logical candidates for Arizona.
Sam Robinson contributed to this post.