Divorces can sometimes go bad and that appears to be the case with the Raiders pending move from Oakland to Las Vegas. The City of Oakland has sued the Raiders, the NFL and every other NFL team, claiming that that owner Mark Davis and the NFL have formed an “illegal cartel” that has violated antitrust law.
Why? Is it because of the NFL’s shady business practices or its history of gaming the federal tax system? Nope. It’s just because the Raiders want to move out of Oakland.
When the divorce gets all lawyer-y and courted up, it’s time to move off the couch and out of the house, so there’s a great chance the Raiders will be packing up their trucks and checking of Northern California early. But where will they play in 2019? Needless to say, we have some odds to talk about, courtesy of BetDSI.
Where will the Raiders play next season?
Oakland +120
San Diego +250
Santa Clara +400
Phoenix +500
Seattle +1000
San Antonio +1000
Portland +1500
Memphis +2000
Toronto +3000
St. Louis +3000
London +5000
Field (Any other city) +500
Related: NFL Betting Guide
It’s been an interesting week for the Raiders. First, they picked up their third (and biggest) win of the season, knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-21 last Sunday. The team celebrated Monday by firing general manager Reggie McKenzie and a handful of his scouting staff. Supposedly it stemmed from head coach Jon Gruden’s dissatisfaction with how McKenzie has been handling the Radiers’ draft in recent years, you know, by drafting one of the two best defensive players in the NFL and a wide receiver that currently has put another team in Super Bowl contention. Regardless, McKenzie is out and Gruden continues his crafting of the NFL’s version of the Titanic.
Suing the league is a moronic move on the City of Oakland’s part. First off, the Raiders are a privately-owned team and any attempt to halt a move in court has either failed or the NFL itself has backed down. You can’t stop Mark Davis from picking up his toys and playing with them somewhere else.
Second, Oakland, along with St. Louis and San Diego, could have had the inside track on a potential expansion team if that came up again. Or, perhaps a team like the Buccaneers, Jaguars or Cardinals might be looking to move themselves over the next few years. Owners of existing teams, or new expansion franchises, are not going to want to go anywhere near Oakland when you start tossing out antitrust suits.
The matter at hand now is, where will the Raiders play next year? The safest bet is right there at the top of the list — Oakland. There’s always a chance that a judge could toss in some injunction that keeps the team from prematurely skipping town ahead of their 2020 plan while the case is in court. There’s also a chance that the City of Oakland will just drop it altogether.
The second best option is probably Santa Clara. The Raiders wouldn’t even have to move out of their facilities. It’s just an hour south of Oakland and you don’t even have to pay bridge tolls.
