Fans of the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers should enjoy their teams while they can. According to Jim Trotter of ESPN, the odds are strong that both will move.
Barring unanticipated miracle, I expect Chargers and Raiders to announce in January their plans to relocate – Chargers to LA, Raiders to LV.
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) December 1, 2016
None of this is terribly surprising.
The Chargers future in San Diego was dealt a serious blow when Measure C not only failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority, but failed completely (read about that here). That left the Chargers with a clear path to Los Angeles.
The Raiders’ potential move to Las Vegas has had its ups and downs. But Mark Davis has made it clear that he sees Vegas as the future home of the franchise (read about that here).
In addition to this, all the possible political hurdles have been cleared as it relates to the state of Nevada and the Raiders’ potential new venue in Las Vegas. That’s an important distinction to note here.
Both the Chargers and Raiders were original American Football League teams in 1960. The Chargers played in Los Angeles in 1960, but have remained in San Diego since 1961. The Raiders have been far more nomadic, playing in Oakland from 1960-1981, Los Angeles from 1982-1994 and Oakland again since 1995.