A majority of the National Football League’s owners support bringing both the San Diego Chargers and the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles — though the proposal has yet to achieve the 24 votes necessary for approval.
The league’s 32 franchise owners held an initial vote on Tuesday to decide between two options: one that would bring the Rams and the Chargers to Inglewood; another option would bring the Chargers and the Oakland Raiders to Carson, about 15 miles south.
The majority of owners sided with the Rams-Chargers option, sources with knowledge of the vote told CNNMoney, but failed to reach the necessary 24 votes. The owners are now expected to hold a second round of voting either late Tuesday night or Wednesday.
The Rams-Chargers option is a break from the two proposals that owners were scheduled to vote on this week. Heading into the summit in Houston, owners were being asked to decide between a Rams proposal for a stadium in Inglewood and a joint Chargers-Raiders proposal for a stadium in Carson.
The NFL’s Los Angeles Committee is now considering a plan that would dissolve the Chargers and Raiders joint venture, clearing the way for the Chargers and Rams to move to Los Angeles instead.
Earlier on Tuesday, a committee made up of six of the league’s most powerful team owners had come out in support of the Chargers-Raiders’ Carson proposal. Even so, Rams owners Stan Kroenke was able to amass enough support among his fellow owners to advance a new proposal that lined up St. Louis with San Diego.
That option would leave the Raiders out of Los Angeles, meaning such a proposal is likely to include significant concessions to Oakland, and perhaps even relocation to a new stadium or new city. Whatever the case, league owners are eager for the Raiders to improve their situation, given that the team brings in the second-lowest revenues in the league.
