Neither project for NFL team in LA has enough league votes to make move

by Jason La Canfora

Franchise relocation to Los Angeles is a burning issue in the NFL and as owners prepare to meet in New York in a little more than a week, little movement is anticipated on that front. Neither the Inglewood project, spearheaded by Rams owner Stan Kroenke, nor the Carson project, led by Chargers owner Dean Spanos and Raiders owner Mark Davis, has sufficient support to carry a vote.

At least 24 of the league’s 32 teams must vote in favor of a franchise in order for the transaction to be authorized. While time is becoming a crucial element — this is going to have to be finalized by December, many owners believe — there are still more questions than answers about which teams will be playing in Los Angeles in 2016, and where precisely they will be located.

Several ownership groups maintain that if the relocation came to a vote right now, there would be a sufficient split to hold up any move forward. The NFL will not bring the matter to a formal vote among the owners until enough straw polling has been conducted to ensure one of these projects has at least 24 votes in the affirmative.

Spanos is the more popular of the two owners among the general constituents, but Kroenke’s project is viewed by some as potentially the more lucrative for all the entire league — Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Patriots owner Bob Kraft chief among them. Some estimate Kroenke would have as many as 10 votes in his favor right now.

Obviously, the league — and commissioner Roger Goodell in particular — is going to have to massage this process and build a consensus for one project or the other. So far the NFL has not taken an official stance supporting one group. While that decision is highly unlikely to come at the October meeting, it is expected by a special session in December or at the latest, early January.

The Los Angeles relocation is one of several topics on the agenda at the Oct. 7, one-day league meeting being held in New York.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/25317344/nfl-team-in-la-neither-project-has-enough-league-votes-right-now