The Chargers will have a couple more days to decide whether to stay in San Diego or to relocate to Los Angeles.
Last year, NFL owners approved a deadline of Jan. 15, 2017, for the Chargers to make a decision on relocation. Since that deadline falls on a Sunday of a Divisional Round playoff weekend and Monday is a federal holiday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), the NFL extended the option deadline to Tuesday, Jan. 17, a league spokesman told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport on Wednesday.
It remains to be seen if the Chargers will indeed exercise the option and move to join the Rams in Los Angeles. In November, San Diego voters rejected a ballot measure that would have raised hotel occupancy taxes to help pay for a proposed $1.8 billion downtown stadium project. Meetings between Chargers owner Dean Spanos, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and other city and county officials have so far failed to yield a stadium plan both sides can agree upon.
Last month, the Chargersagreed to lease a portion of an Orange County office facility as part of their preparations for a potential L.A. move.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell underlined the challenges facing the Chargers in their attempts to stay in San Diego while speaking at the Winter League Meeting in December.