Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who from time to time has talked about the importance of the NFL returning to Los Angeles, thinks that folks in Buffalo shouldn’t worry about their favorite team making a permanent trip to California.
“The thing that Bills fans ought to know is there are a handful of other cities as well that look to Los Angeles and say, ‘Should the fact the NFL doesn’t have a team out there concern us?’” Jones recently told Tim Graham of the Buffalo News.
“I think that’s an obvious thing to think about, but if I were a Bills fan I would feel good about the recent negotiation and remodeling of the stadium.”
Still, the “recent negotiation” locks the Bills in to the stadium named for its 94-year-old owner for only seven years. After that, the price for leaving becomes much more affordable. Depending on who owns the team at the time, the Bills could be in play to leave.
Regardless, unless the NFL expands, some team will be ripped from its current city and stadium and sent to L.A., if/when the NFL returns there. Currently, the list of potential teams to move is fairly short, and the Bills remain fairly close to the top.
Of course, there’s a chance that the L.A. market will remain open indefinitely, providing ongoing leverage for teams looking to improve their stadium situations in their current locations.
It’s worked for 18 years. There’s no reason for the league to stop now.