KC Chiefs: Four division realignments should Chargers move to London
By Cullen Jekel
The KC Chiefs may be welcoming a new team to the AFC West. If the Los Angeles Chargers move to London, the NFL will be forced to realign at least two divisions. Here’s a look at four possible realignment scenarios.
In 1960, the American Football League was born. Among the teams were the Dallas Texans and Los Angeles Chargers. In 1963, the Texans moved to Missouri and were rechristened the Kansas City Chiefs.
After just a single season in Los Angeles, the Chargers moved to San Diego, where they played from 1961 through 2016 before re-locating back to L.A. Now, it appears that the Chargers may be on the move once again, with one distinct possible landing spot being London, England, a major city that the NFL has long coveted and in which it has grown its standing and popularity in recent years.
If the Chargers moved to London–and that appears to be a gigantic “if” at the moment–then the NFL would be forced to realign its divisions. A team based in London cannot be in a western division. As hard enough as it is to figure out the machinations behind any team being based in London and playing in an American sports league, it’s unfathomable to force teams from Kansas City, Denver and Las Vegas to be in the same division with that team.
Bearing that in mind, I set out to realign the NFL’s divisions. I came up with four scenarios.
The first two are fairly simple plans though the latter is next to inconceivable considering one of the proposed moving team’s owner. The third plan has a couple of more moving parts than the first two.
But the fourth scenario (my favorite) is absolutely bonkers. Yet, the idea of placing a team in London is just as crazy. With the NFL expanding to Europe, it would be time for the league itself to embrace a new identity and throw the last 100 years to the wind. Planting a team in London is bold. The fourth scenario is even bolder.
Let’s start with the simplest plan first. And by point of reference, this is the map that I used when I went down this rabbit hole.