Magic Johnson believes Los Angeles will have an NFL franchise again, and soon. Speaking from Oxnard, Calif., where he just so happened to be taking in the Oakland Raiders hosting the Dallas Cowboys in a joint practice, Johnson told Yahoo Sports that a franchise will return to the city within two years.
Magic Johnson predicts Los Angeles will get an NFL team ‘in the next 2 years’
Magic Johnson took in a Raiders practice, then curiously opened up about the prospects of an NFL team returning to Los Angeles.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
“I think for the first time, I truly believe we’re going to get a team. Finally,” Johnson said. “Everybody is on board. The city is on board. The business community is on board. The NFL is on board. Finally we have momentum. In the next couple years, at least in the next 24 months, I think one team will be coming. I don’t know what team that will be, but I believe in the next two years we’ll have a team.”
The timing of Johnson’s remarks is curious. The Raiders have long been a rumored team for relocation, perhaps no more so than on Wednesday when owner Mark Davis revealed that the team will not sign a one-year extension on its lease of O.Co Coliseum. If the Raiders do not get a new stadium -- and indications are that Alameda County and the team are still far apart in negotiations -- they may leave the Bay Area.
Johnson would conceivably have knowledge of any deal that would put an NFL team, if not the Raiders, in Los Angeles. He has deep business connections in the area as a part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Sparks, and former minority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson also has a long-standing relationship with the Davis family.
When pressed by Yahoo, however, Johnson did not reveal the source of his estimation.
“It would be great to have the Raiders back in L.A.,” Johnson said. “I would love for that to happen. But that’s going to be up to Mark and the Raiders and the NFL. But I would love to have the Raiders back in L.A., where they belong. We just want a team. We want a team in the worst way.”
See More:
