Why the Oakland Raiders aren’t moving to Los Angeles

Oct 25, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper (89) runs after a catch while defended by San Diego Chargers inside linebacker Donald Butler (56) at Qualcomm Stadium. Oakland won 37-29. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Re-alignment

Another problem that comes with the Raiders relocating is the NFC and AFC West divisions would have to re-align. Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt doesn’t like the idea of the Raiders and Chargers sharing a stadium because it gives both teams another date that they don’t have to travel.

What he’s really saying is it gives the Raiders an extra home game because they have a much bigger fan base in LA than the Chargers. But in order to re-align the Raiders to the NFC West, one of the teams from the NFC West would have to volunteer to move into the AFC West.

The NFL can’t force the 49ers, Rams, Arizona Cardinals or the Seattle Seahawks to re-align. Technically, the 49ers could do it in order to get the Raiders out of their market. But the NFL sees the Bay Area as a 2-team market and there’s no way Oakland would take another team.

Plus you have the rivalries that are a big part of the NFL’s brand that they have to maintain. It’s no better to take away the Raiders-Chiefs rivalry than it is to take the Green Bay Packers-Chicago Bears rivalry away. It’s not even good for the shield to take away the Raiders-Chargers rivalry.

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