The NFL gave the Chargers the green light to move to L.A. more than a year ago. The NFL’s Commissioner nevertheless isn’t thrilled it came to that.
Appearing on Colin Cowherd’s show (and when not offering #alternativefacts about short-week football), Goodell admitted that the league is “disappointed” that the Chargers are moving. He added that the league “did some unprecedented things to try to keep the Charger in San Diego.”
He wasn’t asked to identify the “unprecedented things” the NFL tried to do. As one league source explained it to PFT, the options definitely included Rams owner Stan Kroenke writing a very large check (possibly over a series of years) to help the Chargers build a stadium in San Diego and to keep L.A. a one-team town.
Even with that added contribution, there wouldn’t have been enough to bridge the gap because taxpayer money was not readily available. That continues to be the main reason for the failure to get a stadium built in San Diego.
It’s a reason that Goodell didn’t expressly articulate when speaking to Cowherd, and it’s a reason that rarely is expressly articulated by anyone connected to the NFL. But that’s ultimately why the Chargers left, and if taxpayer funds would have been available, the deal would have gotten done -- quite possibly with Kroenke paying for part of the new San Diego stadium in order to avoid sharing his stadium and his market with a second team.