NFL in LA: 7 Teams from 7 Cities That Could Make a Historic Move

Now that the NFL lockout is officially done and dusted, the real work begins.

Make no mistake about it: Los Angeles needs a team in the National Football League. Since 1995, Los Angeles has had to put up with USC and UCLA taking the gridiron spotlight, with the Avengers, Xtreme and Temptation providing some interesting sideshows in the AFL, XFL and LFL.

Here are seven cities that are in danger of seeing their team move to the City of Angels later this decade.

1. San Diego Chargers

For many years, ever since the Raiders and Rams left town, Los Angeles have been forced to cheer for a team just north of the Mexican border: the San Diego Chargers.

Now there is possible talk that the Chargers will make a move to LA. Matthew T. Hall of the San Diego Union-Tribune shed some light on this possibility:

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Under the AEG/city of L.A. tentative timeline of sticking a shovel in the dirt by summer, if the Chargers were to leave San Diego, an announcement would have to come between February and April. That's the window the team has each year to quit playing at Qualcomm Stadium.

For those who forgot, the Chargers would have to pay the city of San Diego $24 million to break its lease next year, a termination fee that decreases by about $2 million dollars a year until the lease ends in 2020.

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Add the fact that there is no plans for a vote on a new Chargers stadium, and the issue is pressed, according to Liam Dillon of the Voice of San Diego...

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If a stadium vote doesn't happen next November, the issue likely would fall to the city's next mayor. Current Mayor Jerry Sanders' term ends in 2012 and he's worked in fits and starts on the downtown stadium project for almost two years. At one point, the team had hoped to get a stadium plan on the ballot way back in 2006.

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2. St. Louis Rams

In 1995, Georgia Frontiere successfully brought the Rams to St. Louis. But could the herd be returning to Los Angeles?

A Rams blog, the Turf Show Times, entertained the possibility by noting the team's difficulties to obtain a new stadium:

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With a popular product on the field, [current Rams owner Stan] Kroenke's in much better shape to pursue a much more favorable stadium situation. The Rams' days in the Ed Jones Dome are numbered, and they'll be out just as soon as they hit that clause in their lease. Kroenke knows that the real value of a team is tied up in the value of the place they play. His Colorado teams, even in second tier pro sports like the NHL and the NBA, play in a building he owns, the Pepsi Center, and even the broadcast outlet for those teams.

The man understands synergy. And that's exactly what he'll be looking for as he attempts to put the Rams back on the road to respectability and, more importantly, profitability.

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3. Oakland Raiders

Los Angeles still has a strong Raiders following, and it would be something special if Al Davis' boys returned to the City of Angels for another go at either Farmers Field or the Los Angeles Stadium in the City of Industry.

An article by a Bleacher Report correspondent already discussed this possibility. Also, SBNation already noted that AEG is in talks with the club about a possible relocation.

If the Raiders are indeed the team, three words are all the fans need: "Just win, baby."

4. Buffalo Bills

Buffalo could see its Bills leave Ralph Wilson Stadium for La La Land later this decade.

"Jacksonville and Buffalo are two teams in very, very small markets," Majestic Realty Co. big shot John Semcken told the Associated Press, according to reports from ESPN LA. "They are teams that have either outdated stadiums or are having trouble filling their stadiums or both."

The Bills are a long shot to be the team that leaves town. But when you are linked, you are linked, and it all builds from there. And playing some of your home games in Toronto just adds to the possibilities.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars

Another team linked with a possible relocation move to Los Angeles is the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2009, Greg Garber of ESPN.com wrote a piece chronicling the dwindling fan base that the Jaguars have had in the past few years.

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"Sure, it bothers me," Jaguars owner J. Wayne Weaver said. "It bothers me that we've become the poster boy for blackouts. Sitting here as the man in charge of this franchise, yes, it bothers me."

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Maybe the blackouts will be reduced if your guys end up playing in LA, Mr. Weaver. Food for thought.

6. Minnesota Vikings

Ahhh, these guys. The Minnesota Vikings, who have the honor (or is it dishonor?) to play in a dome, just like St. Louis.

Lester Bagley, one of the big shot among the Vikings top brass, is arguing that case that no, the Vikings will stay in Minnesota. Right?

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Lester Bagley, the Vikings' vice president of public affairs and stadium development, said the team has had no contact with Anschutz Entertainment Group since a "check-in visit" last month in Minneapolis about developing a proposed $1.057 billion stadium project in Arden Hills into a sports and entertainment experience.

"We believe we're in position to get our situation resolved this year in a special session" in the Minnesota Legislature, Bagley said by phone. "That's where our energy is focused."

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Of course, talk of a new stadium in that special session turned out to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Yeah. Your team is on this list for a reason, Mr. Bagley. Face the music, good sir. There's nowhere to hide.

7. San Francisco 49ers

Rounding out the list of candidates for the NFL city bachelor that is Los Angeles are the San Francisco 49ers.

In the way, though, is the talk of the Niners and Raiders teaming up to settle into a new stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

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Then there's the question of where to put the stadium. Santa Clara could be problematic with two tenants because of the restrictions on prime-time night games. Businesses would have to open their parking lots to accommodate fans during game days. But that's a problem on Monday and Thursday nights. Also would Santa Clara approve a deal with the Raiders? Would there have to be another vote?

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My, those are some pretty good questions. Field of Schemes questions whether or not this is possible.

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Reading tea leaves, it seems like the pact between the two Bay Area teams is on the one hand an admission that in the current economic climate (and California's current budget mess, not to mention its laws about public referendums for taxpayer-subsidized projects), neither team has a great shot at getting a stadium built on their own; and on the other, a show of force that could be used to pit local governments against each other in a bidding war. After all, if you're the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, which is more likely to light a fire under your butt: The Raiders asking for a new stadium, or the Raiders and 49ers saying, "You can have both of us together, or else we're both heading to the South Bay?" It's all about the leverage.

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If these talks break down, and the stadium is a no-go, this leaves the door wide open for Los Angeles to lure the Niners in.