NFL team certainly will move to L.A., Colts owner Jim Irsay says

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is among those who believe an NFL team will be playing in Los Angeles soon.

At the conclusion of Wednesday’s NFL annual owners’ meetings in San Francisco, Irsay characterized the NFL’s return to L.A. as inevitable.

“It’s not a matter of ‘if’ now, but ‘when,’” Irsay told the San Francisco Chronicle.

He isn’t the only notable name in the NFL seeing Los Angeles in a strong position to land a team. San Francisco 49ers Chief Executive Jed York said L.A. is offering a more attractive deal than other cities that are in danger of losing their teams.

“I don’t think they’re in the same position as Los Angeles,” York said. “If I was going to handicap it, I think L.A. is much further along than any of the home markets at this point.”

St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke unveiled plans in January to build an NFL stadium in Inglewood. A little more than a month later, the Chargers and Raiders announced plans for a joint stadium project in Carson.

In addition, the NFL is eyeing Los Angeles as a potential host for the Super Bowl in 2020 -- provided there’s an NFL team playing in either Inglewood or Carson.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday there’s a good possibility a team could be playing in L.A. soon, but he didn’t side with Irsay’s evaluation of the situation.

“I don’t think it’s inevitable,” Goodell said. “There is certainly momentum.”

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