THE ST. LOUIS RAMS : NFL Owners Not Certain About Move

Rankin Smith, owner of the Atlanta Falcons, has been through this before.

When Al Davis decided to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982, Smith was part of an owners’ group opposing the move. It turned out to be costly when the NFL lost a lengthy court battle and had to pay Davis a settlement reportedly in the $20-million range.

This time, Smith says, he probably will vote to allow the Rams to leave Anaheim and resettle in St. Louis.

Three-fourths of the 30 NFL owners must approve the move. Should the owners fail to give that approval, the Rams could file an antitrust suit against the NFL, as the Raiders did before moving to Los Angeles.

But Smith says he doesn’t expect it to come to that. He says he doesn’t know for certain, of course, but he suspects that the Rams will have the 23 votes they need to gain league approval of the move, when the issue comes to a vote, most likely at the March 12-17 league meetings in Phoenix.

“My guess is that they feel that they have enough votes,” Smith said. “And, to me, it sounds like a good deal. If they’re successful, the whole league benefits.”

The Rams are counting on a potential profit of more than $20 million a year in St. Louis, which would make the franchise the most profitable in the NFL.

One other NFL team executive who discussed the move Tuesday isn’t so sure that a favorable vote is certain, however.

“At this point I don’t know much more than what I’ve read in the newspapers, but there are a number of issues that need to be discussed,” said Minnesota Viking president and chief executive officer Roger L. Headrick, who represents an ownership group of 10. “I still have to be convinced that this is the right way to go.

“I don’t think that it’s a sure thing at this point. The reason? The issue is the ‘Why?’ If anyone can move at any time without an ownership change being involved, what’s to keep anyone else from doing it? And if everyone else can do it, what you could have is chaos.”

Headrick, in Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl game, an NFL sponsored all-star game involving college seniors, said he believes owners will want to take a closer look at the circumstances behind the team’s decision to move.

“One of the things you have to look at is the reasons that they lost money there,” Headrick said. “If there really is no potential for a fair return there, then that’s another matter.

“It becomes an issue of what are the criteria for permitting a team to move. If someone comes along and offers a better deal, is that justification for moving a franchise? Why couldn’t everyone pursue that opportunity? We hear a lot of talk about loyalty from the fans. What loyalty exists on the part of owners if they all start moving their teams? Is that good for the game?”

He said he expects some owners to be in favor of the move, but there are others, like himself, who will need to be convinced.

“I think it’s tough right now to get 23 votes for anything,” he said.

Headrick said he also has concerns “about a team moving from the second-biggest market in the U.S.”

Smith said his main concern is that the NFL maintain a presence in the Los Angeles market.

“I think this will lessen the possibility that (the Raiders) would move,” Smith said.

Bob Harlan, president and chief executive officer of the Green Bay Packers, said he has not decided how he will vote.

“I’d hate to say right now, because I’m not totally convinced what I’ll do,” he said. “I’ve never voted on a change of location before. It’s a new situation for me.”

Times staff writer Jason Reid contributed to this story.