The St. Louis Rams either ran into their first bit of NFL red tape or is getting help from the league in securing owners approval to move.
The Los Angeles Times reported that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issued a memo to all 32 teams that the league as a whole must approve any plans by an individual team to relocate.
Roger Goodell says that the NFL would prefer that teams not relocate
Therefore, he announced the formation of the "Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities," consisting of owners Clark Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs, Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots, John Mara of the New York Giants, Bob McNair of the Houston Texans, Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Those owners already had been working together for some time on the possible Los Angeles relocation, the Times reported, but had not been formally identified by the NFL.
NFL prepared to bend the rules to allow a franchise to relocate to Los Angeles?
The Times called Goodell's memo a "reminder" that an individual team wasn't just going to pack up and move on its own. NFL.com, however, said the league simply wants "to get this right," in reconnecting L.A. to the league.
Any team that wishes to move needs approval from three-fourths of the NFL owners. The approval process includes "selection of a stadium site; approval of stadium lease and financing arrangements; and debt ceiling and sharing waivers (if needed); relocation consent and terms; and Super Bowl awards, among other subjects," NFL.com reported. "A key role of this Special Committee will be to preserve the voting rights of the clubs on each of these important issues."
But keeping the league informed as to the relocation process would seem to help any team in its efforts, whether it's the Rams, Oakland Raiders or San Diego Chargers. Any issues or concerns that develop along the way would give the franchise wishing to relocation time and opportunity to find solutions.
If the owners were kept in the dark about the relocation process until it was time to vote, many of the unknowns, fears or questions the owners might have would already be addressed.
According to NFL.com, "The Rams appear to be the current favorite -- team owner Stan Kroenke and a real estate investment management firm have plans to build an 80,000-seat NFL stadium in the Inglewood section of Los Angeles."
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