Chiefs Realignment

It's no secret that the city of Los Angeles wants a professional football team. They are the second largest city, have the second largest market, two NHL teams (counting Anaheim as part of LA), two MLB teams, two NBA teams, an MLS team, but the most popular sport in America is inexplicably absent from this list. But LA is looking to change that.

LA, of course, have had their NFL teams in the past. The Raiders, Chargers and Rams have once called the city of Angels home, but both chose to leave for other markets. And while no current NFL team is looking to move and it would be very difficult to create a new team in the seemingly perfect 32 team format, LA is being proactive in their approach to lure a team to the city.

Companies have already committed millions of dollars to the building of the stadium and in the promotion of bringing a team to the city. The state is endorsing it because of the high unemployment rate California has suffered over the last few years during this recession. There is even a website that goes over every detail include economic impact and artist renderings of the stadium.

I know what you're thinking: what does this have to do with the Chiefs?



Well, nothing as far as the team is concerned. Clark Hunt would never move the Chiefs (fingers crossed), so there's no concern about relocation. But whatever team does come to LA - and yes, there will/should be one - could cause a division realignment in the NFL.

It just depends on what team moves to the land of celebrities.

If it's the Raiders or the Chargers, then no realignment of divisions will be necessary, and the city of Los Angeles will welcome back a long lost son with open arms. But since both these franchises seem content with their current locations and the only real threat of leaving would be if their respective cities didn't want to fund new stadiums/renovations, it might be a long shot for either of those teams to call LA home once again.

Now that the Vikings have gotten their new stadium deal through the twin cities' pocket books, the smart money should be on either the Jaguars or the Rams. And yes, I am dismissing the idea of the Bills leaving Buffalo despite being approached by LA in 2010 when this stadium idea got underway.

The Jaguars are in a tough market, where the town is already dominated by college sports and the state already has two other NFL teams and a half dozen other professional sports franchises. Looking at attendance for other professional sports, such as the Dolphins and Rays, and the Florida economy in general, it is safe to think that Jacksonville needs out.

I know that Jacksonville's stadium deal makes it extremely difficult to leave Jacksonville, at that when the franchise was sold to Shahid Khan in November, he said he wanted to keep the team in Florida. But it is because of Khan that many suspect that the team will move, and maybe not even to Los Angeles.

Khan bid but failed to become majority owner of the St. Louis Rams in 2010. A Rams fan, Khan eventually got his dream of owning an NFL team with his purchase of the Jaguars. But there's a chance that Khan would be willing to move the Jaguars to a town he always rooted for - St. Louis.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote in December: As one executive with a team other than the Jaguars told PFT on Wednesday morning, "People that I trust think there is a chance [Rams owner] Stan Kroenke moves the Rams to L.A. and [Shahid] Khan moves to St. Louis."

Kroenke is no novice at owning professional sports teams, having at one point been the majority owner of the Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL), and Colorado Rapids (MLS). Although the Rams could get out of their stadium deal by 2015, there's always a chance that if the opportunity presented itself to move to the much much larger market of LA and be replaced by the Jaguars, that they would jump at it.

But let's back up for a second. If it's the Rams that move to LA, then the divisions will have no reason to change, seeing as the Rams are an NFC West team already. But if it is the Jaguars that pursue relocation to LA, then the Chiefs might be the odd man out in the AFC West.

The Jaguars are currently in the AFC South, along with the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, and Tennessee Titans. If the Jaguars found themselves in LA, as weird as it sounds, the Chiefs could find themselves out of the division for the first time in franchise history. After all, they are the furthest eastern team in the division and having the Jaguars remain in the AFC South would make about as much sense as that one season the Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent in the AFC West (1976).

While the chances of this are extremely low, and really only depend on if the Jaguars (or if the Bills, but once again, not many see that as a real possibility) decide to take their talents to Hermosa beach. Here's what Bill Williamson, the AFC West blog writer for ESPN had to say on the subject:

"If the Bills or the Jaguars end up out West, eventually something would have to be done and because the Chiefs are the furthest East team in the division, an eventual move from the AFC West could be a possibility. Again, it’s down the road. If that happens, it would be a shame. The Chiefs forever belong in this division."

I agree.