Will St. Louis Rams be moving to Los Angeles for 2016 season?

There was some big news early, early Monday morning for football in Los Angeles. Sam Farmer and Roger Vincent of the LA Times co-wrote an extensive feature about St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke announcing plans to build 80,000-seat NFL stadium in Inglewood, California. The stadium could potentially be done by 2018, and the earliest any team could relocate is 2016. When a team eventually does move to LA, they would likely spend a year or two at the LA Coliseum or Rose Bowl while construction wraps up at a new stadium.

There is a whole lot to un-wrap with this, and in reality, this discussion is still in its infancy. Kroenke purchased 60 acres a year ago, but all parties involved denied it was for an eventual move. At the Super Bowl, Roger Goodell was asked about the purchase and he talked about how Kroenke did a lot of business around the world, and it was not all connected to his football ownership. Goodell said this with a straight face.

It is worth noting, the 60 acres was not going to be enough for the envisioned facility. Kroenke has now joined up with the owners of an adjacent 300 acre plot, which provides more than enough room for the facility.

What is next for St. Louis? Well, the Rams are currently under lease with the city, and they have until January 28 to inform St. Louis as to whether they want to convert to a year-to-year lease. The Rams have this option because of a "state of the art" clause in their lease that requires the Edward Jones Dome rank among the top 25 percent of NFL stadiums. If it fell below that mark, the city would have to build them a new stadium, or they could get out of town. Will Leitch has a great rundown of the raw deal St. Louis has faced on this.

None of this means the Rams are moving to Los Angeles in the near future. It would not surprise me if they do, but this is also a strong show of leverage by Kroenke to potentially get a deal from St. Louis. A stadium in Los Angeles would be built almost entirely with private money. If Kroenke can finagle a new stadium or some major upgrades to his current situation in St. Louis, it would be done with public money, which means any revenue would quickly become profit. LA could be a cash cow, but there will be significant costs. Someone will end up in LA, but all this does not guarantee it is the Rams.