Los Angeles is one of the top media markets in the country. It has two NBA teams, two MLB teams, two hockey teams and two of the most well-recognized college athletic programs in the country. Does it really need the NFL?
Of course it does. Or so very rich and influential people say. The NFL could be the most popular sports league in the country, with the minor league system (college football) hanging around in second place.
TV deals have exploded in recent years; just about every franchise is now worth close to $1 billion. Just last week, Forbes announced that the Dallas Cowboys were worth an estimated $3.2 billion, following closely behind soccer powerhouse Real Madrid ($3.4 billion) and three other sports teams (Barcelona, Manchester United and New York Yankees).
Bringing the most popular sport in the country to the second largest media market in the country is an obvious move. But if it’s so obvious, why hasn’t it happened yet?
The short version is that the NFL hasn’t needed the LA market, as crazy as that sounds. In 1995, the year after the Raiders left, the NFL made $2.14 billion in revenue. Ten years later, NFL profit nearly tripled to more than $6 billion. In 2012, the NFL made an estimated $9.5 billion. That figure, according to InvestorPlace, is projected to double by 2016.
Speaking of stadiums, let’s address the elephant in the room: LA doesn’t have one. No team is going to relocate without the promise of a new stadium. Several attempts have been made to get the ball rolling, but nothing has yet to materialize. It would take an owner so desperate to leave his current situation for a team to leave without the promise of a new stadium. Here’s where things get interesting.
Mark Davis, son of late Raiders owner Al Davis, really doesn’t want to be in Oakland anymore. He recently met with San Antonio city officials about the possibility of moving the team to Texas. A lot of speculation followed, and the San Antonio rumor went away, but not Mark Davis’ desire to leave Oakland. The Raiders’ lease with the Oakland Coliseum expires after this year, meaning they’d have to sign a new lease or relocate.
It’s a very enticing possibility. Yes, the Raiders are awful, but that’s sort of irrelevant. The NFL is the NFL, and it’s going to draw fans regardless of the quality of the team. There doesn’t appear to be much to gain for the NFL to move to LA since its business model has worked so well since it left the busy city. Sure, more money is never bad, but they’re going to make more money regardless, with or without LA.
Neither need each other, but when you can have a Ferrari along with a BMW, you’re not going to say no.