Fresh off of the news that the San Diego Chargers are moving to LA to become the Los Angeles Chargers, the Oakland Raiders will officially file their relocation papers to move out of Oakland in favor of Las Vegas.
The move, which has been rumored for quite some time now, would bring Vegas its second professional sports team, joining the newly-created Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL.
Upon filing, the next steps include a vote among all of the league’s owners and a thorough analysis of the potential move examining all possible scenarios.
According to NFL.com, the process formalizing the move is expected to take between four and six weeks following the official filing.
The filing would include a statement explaining the Raiders’ decision, then potentially words from Goodell. There would be committee meetings to analyze the move from all sides, then a vote of all the owners. Between the analysis, vetting, and discussion, it’s likely it would take about 4-6 weeks.
That would set up a vote of the owners to send the Raiders to Vegas during the late-March league meetings in Arizona — with 24 votes needing to pass. The other option would be to call a special league meeting, which doesn’t appear likely.
Based on recent decisions made in the NFL by the league’s owners, there’s no reason to suspect the vote won’t pass. Relocation used to be a last resort, but the NFL has shown through the Rams and Chargers that they’re willing to spurn fans in order to chase bigger revenues.
Relocation news is always awkward, but it may be especially so in the case of the Raiders who will have to wait until a stadium is completed in Vegas before they’re able to move. The report from NFL.com states that the Raiders plan to play in Oakland for the “next couple seasons” until the new stadium is built. It’ll be pretty interesting to see how that plays out.
The NFL has been routinely criticized for how it treats its fans. With news breaking of a third relocation in under two years, one has to wonder how the NFL has been able to keep as many fans as it has towing the company line.
