NFL owners voted Tuesday night to approve a Rams move back to Los Angeles, with the possibility that the Chargers will eventually follow.
In a 30-2 vote, league owners meeting in Houston endorsed the stadium proposal of Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who has plans to build a billion-dollar facility in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. The Chargers, who initially had a joint stadium proposal with the Raiders in Carson, Calif., have an option to join the Rams in Inglewood.
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Before moving to St. Louis for the 1995 NFL season, the Rams were in Los Angeles from 1946-94 after spending the franchise's first 10 years in Cleveland. The Chargers were founded in 1960 as the Los Angeles Chargers before heading to San Diego the following year.
After the Raiders bowed out of a potential move, the Rams' move became a simple matter of providing the proverbial rubber stamp. The Rams said last month in their relocation application that a move to Los Angeles would be effective for the 2016 season.
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A final decision on the Chargers could be delayed until a June vote in San Diego on public funding for a stadium. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the Chargers and Raiders will each receive $100 million to use toward a new stadium. Goodell also said that the Raiders would have an opportunity to relocate if the Chargers do not join the Rams.
What seems clear is that the Rams likely won't be playing in Los Angeles alone after a Rams-only option was removed from the owners' ballot. It seemed all along that a Rams-Chargers partnership was inevitable, even though it would be a limited partnership because Kroenke is willing to share only football-related revenue from the stadium.
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Chargers owner Dean Spanos has been trying for years to get a new stadium in San Diego, but a compromise was reportedly reached with concessions made by Kroenke on revenue sharing, according to NFL Network.
Before the Chargers can join the Rams in Inglewood, Kroenke's stadium has to be built. With the Rams now officially out of St. Louis, the team will need a temporary home in the Los Angeles area while their new stadium is built. The Chargers would then seemingly have a lame-duck season at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium.
CBSSports.com's Jason LaCanfora reported Tuesday that USC has given approval to have the Los Angeles Coliseum house two NFL teams next season. Coliseum general manager Joe Furin said Tuesday night (per SportsBusiness Journal's Don Muret on Twitter) that the stadium's lease with the university allows for one NFL team to play there and that USC has not been asked to change the agreement to accommodate a second team.
When the Rams hired coach Jeff Fisher in 2012, part of the speculation was they did so because Fisher was the coach of the Houston Oilers during their transition through Memphis and onto Nashville as the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers/Titans had a pair of temporary homes in the Liberty Bowl and Vanderbilt Stadium before moving into their permanent home.
Now Fisher, who grew up in Los Angeles and played college football at USC, will be doing it again.