Is Las Vegas a bad sports city? With the Raiders flirting with a move to Vegas, owners can't escape the questions that come with putting a team there. Gambling seems to be the big issue for some, but others are less concerned about that than they are whether or not the city can support a team.
Some NFL owners are worried Las Vegas is a bad sports town
Gambling isn’t the real problem for a potential Raiders move to Las Vegas, at least not for some NFL owners.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
I can see the concern. NFL owners, most them, are usually a conservative bunch and haven’t seen the precedent for filling a football stadium in Las Vegas. However, the nature of the sport makes selling tickets in the upper deck a lot less relevant than it used to be. On the surface, a team would have plenty of clients in Las Vegas to sell premium seats, with oodles of entertainment corporations in town, not to mention out of town companies who can use those suites and seats for themselves and their clients.
The role of national television deals in the NFL carries a lot more weight than ticket sales. That’s where the Raiders might be a fit, assuming the team on the field really is building for sustained success. Raider Nation is one of those NFL brands that transcends individual cities, which offers a little insight into why there are rumors of owners pushing for someone besides Mark Davis to run the team.
Daytime sports shouting shows can debate whether or not Las Vegas is a good sports city all they want. It might not matter if the NFL plays its cards right.
A LOT OF MONEY FOR MEDIOCRE QUARTERBACKS
Why are the Eagles spending $43 million on quarterbacks this year? CEO and chairman Jeffrey Lurie explained it in pretty simple terms: “Having a lot of assets at the most important position in the NFL is a good strategic move for now.”
Is it though? The Eagles gave Sam Bradford a two-year, $35 million contract with $22 million guaranteed. Not long after that they gave Chase Daniel a three-year, $21 million contract with $12 million guaranteed, to be the backup and maybe compete for the starting job. Then, they traded away a ton of draft picks to go up to the second spot in the draft this year and get Carson Wentz, who’s reportedly ahead of Bradford already (surprise).
It’s not the worst example of cap management (hello, Saints!) but it’s enough that it’ll hobble their roster-building efforts for two years unless Wentz turns out to be gold almost instantly. That feels like a stretch and a weighty bunch of expectations to put on a rookie QB.
MANZIEL IS NOT MISSING: Johnny Manziel reports that he is not missing. Manziel was supposed to host a party in the Hamptons, but went missing, according to the New York Post’s Page Six. But his spokesperson says she talked to him Monday, as did a few others.
LEARY WANTS A TRADE: Ronald Leary wants a trade, but doesn’t have the leverage. The Cowboys have no incentive to trade their left guard. An injury sent him to the bench and La’el Collins took over. A lot of teams could use a guard of Leary’s caliber, but Dallas has no incentive to trade him.
OWNED: Aaron Rodgers owns the Chicago Bears now. According to one of those wacky Wikipedia edits! Of course, it’s not totally wrong if you think about it.
IS HE COMING BACK OR NOT? Anthony Davis still tweeting, deleting about 49ers return. Is he coming back or not?
LITTLE GRONK: Can Glenn Gronkowski ball like his brother? “Goose” won’t be mistaken for his famous older brother, but he has a legitimate shot at making the roster if he can prove his versatility
SEANTREL IS COMING BACK: Seantrel Henderson is returning to the Bills on Tuesday. The Bills right tackle didn’t show up for OTAs this month, and there was some confusion about whether or not he’d be back at all. Henderson suffers from Crohn’s disease, which caused him to miss the last part of the season. He had surgery to treat it, which caused him to miss the offseason time so far. The weird thing about this was that he never had any communication with the coaches about it.
THE NEW BIG BLUE: The Giants need Ben McAdoo to be more than his playbook. The Giants hired McAdoo to turn around their offense in 2014. Now, he’s the head coach and tasked with building “a new era of Giants football.”
JORDAN WANTS BACK IN: Dion Jordan will apply for reinstatement after year-long NFL suspension. After three failed drug tests and a year-long suspension, Jordan will apply on Wednesday to be reinstated.
WHERE’S WALDO? Andrew Luck in an old USMNT jersey looks like Waldo got Lasik. Play along at home!
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