NFL reportedly considering moving Chargers back to San Diego

Sporting News ^ | 9-22-2017 | Ron Clements

[Snickering Hound]

Could the NFL really send the Chargers back to San Diego? It's something being discussed, according to longtime NFL reporter Don Banks.

The former Sports Illustrated reporter, who has worked for NFL Media and currently writes for The Athletic, told a San Diego radio station on Thursday the NFL never wanted to lose San Diego as a market and could force Chargers owner Dean Spanos to take the team back.

"I have been painted a picture from people I’ve talked to that the league was sympathetic … to Dean Spanos’ plight," Banks told The Mighty 1090. "Feels like he had been a ‘league guy’ feels like he had waited kind of his turn on the relocation front, thought he had the votes the year before — Jerry Jones and Stan Kroenke pretty much outmaneuvered Dean and Mark Davis with the Raiders to be the first in line for LA. So it was almost as if this was a bit of a make up.

"There are people in the league — including the commissioner — they did not want to see San Diego forsaken. They would rather there be a team in San Diego. If there’s anything viable that they could find to put the league back in to San Diego, I think they will be in that camp strongly."

The Chargers failed to sell out their temporary home, the 27,000-seat StubHub Center, in their home opener last Sunday. Banks wrote at The Athletic the NFL is shocked by how quickly things have gone south for the Chargers in L.A.

[Snickering Hound]

[C19fan]

LOL!!!! Spanos paid a franchise move fee of $500 MM. You are telling me he could not build a useful, maybe not full state of the art, stadium for that amount of money in the SD area???

[JohnyBoy]

How about they ship anyone disrespecting America out of the league?

[Alberta's Child]

LMAO. California has an economy that is larger than most countries in this world, but they can't keep a franchise in place in one of the most lucrative professional sports leagues in the world?

I have a better idea. Move the 49ers to Istanbul and the Chargers to Baghdad. That'll do wonders for attendance.

[Huskrrrr]

Rearranging the deck chairs?

[Seaplaner]

I would like to see the Chargers return to their San Diego roots. A new stadium might help them out quite a bit.

[x1stcav]

Actually, LA was their roots.

[blueunicorn6]

It usually takes at least four times the effort, time and resources to build an organization back up as it did to destroy it.

[Defiant]

What if we don’t want them back?

[KC_Lion]

Gotta recycle my own joke.

All this backtracking is how The Chargers stay in shape.

[Defiant]

1 year in LA when the AFL was a minor league outfit is not their roots. When they left, no one in LA even knew they were there.

[thorvaldr]

Did not know they left. Don’t care they are coming back. Protest MY national anthem anywhere you want, you damn commies. #boycottnfl

[sparklite2]

This ran in the Register back in July:

And while the Chargers haven’t played a single down in Los Angeles yet — remember, they opted to delay moving to L.A. by one year in order to give a new stadium deal in San Diego one last try – they’re already benefiting from the move.

At this point last year the Chargers sat 44th on the Forbes list with a valuation of $1.525 billion. This year, they’re up eight spots after a 36 percent bump to $2.08 billion. And a continued surge seems likely in future years as the Chargers settle into their new home.

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/07/12/was-cost-of-relocating-to-l-a-worth-it-for-rams-and-chargers-check-out-the-latest-franchise-valuations/

You can’t make this stuff up.

[dfwgator]

Jerry Jones and Stan Kroenke pretty much outmaneuvered Dean and Mark Davis with the Raiders to be the first in line for LA. So it was almost as if this was a bit of a make up.

Jerry also wanted to make sure they didn't move to Austin/San Antonio.

[DoughtyOne]

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[Obadiah]

In management circles this type of action or consideration is known as pushing the PANIC BUTTON!!!!

[x1stcav]

I know, I was there then.

A technicality, I agree.

[RightField]

NFL version of the New Coke fiasco.

[forgotten man]

San Diego does not want them back. You can keep them. If you want to give away over $2 billion of taxpayer money for 8 home NFL games per year to a billionaire a**hole, go knock yourself out.

[Mr. Jeeves]

I don’t know - “Compton Chargers” has a nice ring to it, and decorating StubHub Center in Crip colors would be perfectly in keeping with the NFL’s new social agenda. :)