The NFL needs a Boogeyman. And perhaps it has one in Las Vegas.
For decades it was Los Angeles. Some municipality isn't playing ball with stadium funding? Need some leverage to ensure you get exactly what you want out of particular region? No problem. Just have an owner be photographed meeting with some Los Angeles politician or plant a few stories about stadium possibilities and watch the process unfold. Having such a massive market without the NFL came in very handy as any number of teams flirted with Southern California to make the decision makers in their current city compliant enough.
So it was hardly a shocker that within days -- or was it hours? -- of the NFL's owners effectively killing off Mark Davis's dream of a new stadium in Carson, Calif., that the Raiders owner become increasingly overt and heavy-handed about his obsession with Las Vegas. And, wouldn't you know it, all of a sudden the other owners and the commissioner and everyone else who matters at Park Avenue batted not an eye in opposition. Suddenly it seemed like there was a massive thawing on Vegas as being the embodiment of everything gambling-related from which the league has always tried to publicly distance itself.
Vegas, baby. Vegas.
We waited to hear voices of opposition take the floor, but never did, and it wasn't long before the league was basically condoning Davis' exploration of a stadium in Sin City. The leverage game was back on, only now with LV instead of LA. In the high-stakes game of NFL stadium funding, with the pot being this rich, I guess none of us should be surprised. And now, with those same owners who finally solved the Los Angeles conundrum just a few months ago now about to meet again in Carolina this week, Vegas is very much on their minds. And on their lips.
While the topic of Davis' exploration of a stadium there is not an official item on the NFL's agenda during this short meeting, it is already being chatted about around the league and the strong sense I got from several people close to NFL owners is that everyone more or less seems willing to go with whichever way the wind is blowing. Even from some of the league's old-school standards -- the Rooneys and Maras -- I am not detecting much angst over any of this. Actually, I'm not detecting any. Seems like everyone is just about ready to go along for the ride if that's the way the process ends up playing out.
Don't get me wrong: The most-desired deal here is to get the Raiders a sweetheart deal to stay in Oakland. With the 49ers moving out to the boonies in Santa Clara -- and encountering their own struggles there now -- keeping a team with a downtown foothold in the Bay Area is the priority. It's a bigger market -- considerably a bigger TV market -- and Davis still could have the opportunity to cash in as the second team in Los Angeles should Chargers owner Dean Spanos pass on that opportunity. That's the ultimate goal.
But let's face it -- it's not like the Raiders are going to move to London or something like that, and there are only so many other viable locales that could be realistically investigated to house an NFL team. So if, in the end, the league ends up establishing Vegas as the guy in the closet ready to pounce out if the Jaguars or Bills are unable to solve their stadium riddles in the future, that's a win for the league, too.
It's obvious that there is ample money being thrown around in Vegas to make it a viable stadium option, and if this ends up being a trial balloon of sorts for future ventures, well, rest assured, plenty of other owners are taking notice. And if in the end the best (only?) deal is in Vegas and the league office deems that to be the recommended option, then that's how it will play out.
If Oakland can't deliver what is demanded of it, then don't bet on there being any staunch anti-Vegas sentiment out there. I don't get the sense there will be any moral high ground play being made here by other owners. If the whole LA shuffle reinforced anything, it's that this is a most malleable process and Park Avenue will get what Park Avenue ultimately wants. If Oakland isn't seen as viable in the near term, and Davis doesn't take the LA route, then Vegas still could fall apart for one reason or another -- but the fact that it's the gambling capital of the country won't be one of them.
Everything is fungible. And that tried-and-true anti-Vegas stance is a thing of the past. It ain't coming back. Vegas is the new LA. We'll see if or when a team actually lands there, but in the meantime it will serve a purpose nonetheless and expect to hear owners come out of this meeting talking about the possibility of playing there in relatively glowing terms.
Other news and notes from around the NFL:
What to do with Pro Bowl?
The Pro Bowl is moving from Hawaii to Orlando for next season, but more changes could be on the way. I spoke to several owners when the March league meetings were winding down and many were venting about February's Pro Bowl. I'm also told the non-competitive nature of that game grated on Roger Goodell as well. Some owners strongly believed that changes could be coming sooner rather than later on much more than just a change of location. This is very much a hot topic of conversation and more alterations -- beyond the format change with how the teams are selected -- could be coming.
Who wants to go to China?
Teams are not exactly lining up to play in this game in China in a few years. Owners are eagerly awaiting more details of how this will work and how much time off teams will get around the game and how long they would have to be in Asia, etc. There are some major competitive advantage/disadvantage issues at stake here and many more questions than answers about it right now.
Will Bowlens keep Broncos?
With Stephen Ross taking the proactive step at the last meeting of securing the future of his franchise long-term and having a succession plan not only in place, but already voted on and passed, there is a lot of rumbling about the Broncos. Their future is far murkier and there are some concerns in the league office about the ability of the Bowlen family to sort through all of the potential issues and retain the team in the end. This coincides with things not exactly going particularly smooth in Detroit and Nashville lately after the passing of a team patriarch, not to mention all of the infighting in New Orleans, for that matter. There would be no shortage of potential suitors for the Broncos franchise if it were to come to sale. There is a lot of whispering going on about this situation.
Who's in, who's out at Park Avenue
The turnover at the league office continues. Prominent execs like Merton Hanks and Jeff Miller are leaving, others like Matt Birk and Mike Kensil are having their roles change and sources said Jon Ferrari, the Manager of Labor Operations at the NFL Management Council, is also on his way out, too. He'll be taking a position with the Eagles.
