Oakland Raiders Won’t Relocate to San Antonio, According to Jason Cole

San Antonio’s dream of getting an NFL franchise, specifically the Oakland Raiders, took a huge blow on Friday with the report that owner Mark Davis will not move to the Texas city despite heavy interest from city officials to try to woo him into giving the state its third franchise in the league. Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole confirming that league officials have told him there is “no way” that Davis will consider moving to San Antonio as he remains interested in keeping the team in Oakland or as a second option, a relocation back to Los Angeles.

The news comes in the wake of reports that Davis would be again meeting with San Antonio city officials to discuss a potential relocation to Texas, something that seemed like it could have had an outside chance with reports that St. Louis are the most likely franchise to relocate to Los Angeles surfacing of late. However with a rich tradition in California the prospects of moving the Raiders franchise and brand to Texas was something that never looked like a good fit from the beginning as despite heavy interest from San Antonio in getting a major sports franchise to pair with the NBA’s Spurs, nothing got past the friendly discussion point with the city and Mark Davis.

There are still plenty of unknowns surrounding the Raiders and their stadium search, but fans of the franchise in California will be relieved that the San Antonio talks are being confirmed as the leverage ploy that many saw them as. Perhaps one day Texas will have three teams in the NFL as California has, but that franchise will not be the Raiders who remain committed to the idea of staying in Oakland or returning to the only other place they have called him in Los Angeles for the time being. For the sake of the franchise as well as the fanbase, hopefully something gets finalized soon when it comes to the Raiders getting a deserved new stadium.