As MDS pointed out earlier in the day, the Rams and the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission have struck a deal. But not a deal to keep the Rams in St. Louis. Instead, it’s a deal to play one regular-season home game in London.
And so the long-term future of the Rams remains uncertain. It will get even more uncertain as Rams owner Stan Kroenke gets closer to buying the L.A. Dodgers.
According to the Los Angeles Times (via SportsBusiness Daily), Peter O’Malley has abandoned his bid to buy the team. Since O’Malley was one of 11 bidders to make the first cut, his departure drops the number of competitors to 10.
One of the 10 is Kroenke.
The group will be cut to five after a new wave of bidding. And then, after another round of bidding, a winner will be selected.
If Kroenke is successful, the relocation of any team other than the Rams to L.A. could create problems under the league’s cross-ownership rules. NFL owners may own teams in other major-league sports, as long as those teams aren’t in the same as another NFL team. The rule never has been applied in a situation where an NFL team moves to a market where another NFL owner’s baseball, basketball, or hockey team is headquartered.