© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
After all the reports, rumors, and speculation, the Raiders are back to where they started.
They will stay in Oakland — for at least one more year.
On Monday afternoon, the Raiders reportedly reached an agreement to play at the Oakland Coliseum for at least the 2019 season, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The #Raiders and the Coliseum Authority have reached an agreement for the team to remain in Oakland for the 2019 season at least and the sides are ironing out final nuances and details of the deal, sources say. It could be wrapped up and presented to the board as early as Friday.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 25, 2019
A previous report from the San Francisco Chronicle’s Phil Matier stated that the Raiders would pay $7.5 million to play at the Coliseum this upcoming season. That number would rise to $10.5 million in 2020.
The growing feeling among those close to the situation was that the Raiders would ultimately play in the Coliseum in 2019, with their headquarters located in Alameda. A recent development, cited in Matier’s report, is that the team could now play there in 2020. That option is likely insurance in case the team’s $1.8-billion Las Vegas stadium is not ready by the start of the 2020 season, which was the original plan.
This, of course, is the latest twist in a situation that has been ongoing for nearly three months.
With about three weeks left in the 2018 NFL season, the City of Oakland sued Raiders owner Mark Davis and his team for their “illegal move” to Las Vegas. With their Coliseum lease set to expire, Davis started looking for other places to play in 2019, but the search came with little success.
One option was the 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium, but Davis long thwarted the idea of playing in the same stadium as the Bay Area rival. Another idea was to play in the Giants’ Oracle Park, but the Raiders needed the 49ers’ permission, and they reportedly didn’t want to waive their territorial rights. San Francisco’s City Hall also worried that traffic near the waterfront stadium would be too hectic for residents.
Non-Bay Area cities recently started offering their services. Earlier this week, Birmingham, Alabama and Tuscon, Arizona offered to split hosting duties for Raiders “home” games next season.
It turns out the Raiders aren’t going anywhere in 2019.