Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been talking a lot lately about the NFL returning to Los Angeles.
He talked a little more about it on Wednesday, with NFL Network.
“I think with basis, I feel more imminent about a team being in here, that is it more imminent, than any time since we haven’t had a team in Los Angeles,” Jones told Rich Eisen and Michael Irvin. “This market is a huge market. It is a little bit of a black eye for all of us to have had this many years and not had an NFL team in Los Angeles. The owners don’t mess much up; I am saying that with a smile. But we haven’t gotten this one right. There are people, there are locations, there are people that are interested -- viable people -- that could help us put this thing together.
“As it turns out, we do have two teams . . . that could move to this area. There won’t be any expansion, so it will be teams that move.”
The teams that could move most easily are the Rams (after the 2014 season) and the Chargers (after any given season, thanks to a buyout clause at Qualcomm Stadium that shrinks every year).
Both teams previously were headquartered in L.A. The Rams from 1946 through 1994, and the Chargers for their inaugural season in 1960.
Observers and insiders have said for years that the NFL won’t go back to L.A. unless and until the right deal comes along, which typically means finding a partner who is willing to do a bad deal. Besides, with the NFL experiencing unprecedented growth and popularity since the Rams and Raiders left a generation ago, it’s hard to make the case that not being in Los Angeles has hurt the NFL in any way.