While the NFL continues to waltz with Los Angeles as a franchise destination, it appears that Toronto hasn't been completely crossed off the list of potential landing spots in the future.
With new Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula keeping the team in Western New York permanently, it seemed to have closed the door on a franchise moving to Toronto. However, Pegula told the Toronto Sun's John Kryk he has no qualms about another team moving into his neighborhood.
"I don't think I would have a problem with it if they could support the team," Pegula said Tuesday from the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix. "It's a big enough market."
It seems odd that the new owner would welcome a rival team into what has become part of the Bills' secondary market.
"I believe I was asked that question when I was approved as an owner, and it was an affirmative answer to the league," Pegula said. "I said I would support it if Toronto had a franchise. ... There are a lot of people there."
As Kryk points out, there are 8.5 million people who live in the greater Toronto area and about three million who live between Buffalo and Toronto. Still, Pegula said about 12 percent of Bills season ticket holders hail from our northern neighbor -- a number that could increase if the Bills build a new stadium in downtown Buffalo.
What the NFL's question to Pegula during the purchasing process and his ultimate response about having a team in Toronto tells us is that the league still has the Canadian city on its list of possible relocation sites after L.A. ultimately gets settled.
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