<P> The most immediate likely candidate for relocation is the Carolina Panthers . The Panthers' lease on Bank of America Stadium expires after the 2018 season, and owner Jerry Richardson, already in declining health and planning to sell the team after his death, was forced to put the team up for sale in December 2017 following accusations of paying hush money for objectionable conduct . Like the Raiders, the timing of these developments is less than ideal since the league does not intend to put a team in London on such short notice . </P> <P> It had been suggested that while the Raiders may have appeared to be the most likely candidate due to their lack of prospects in comparison with teams like the Chargers, their need for a solution may have actually been too urgent to be a viable option for London . </P> <P> Following the Rams move to Los Angeles, a comment by Raiders owner Mark Davis that "The world is a possibility for Raider Nation" was interpreted by some as indicating London was a consideration . Some argued it was their next best option compared to other US markets, for various reasons, and they could have used temporary homes until the move . The name London Raiders may have to be purchased, as it is already in use in ice hockey . Davis's current plan is to keep his team in Oakland in the near term, then move to a stadium set to begin construction in the near future in Las Vegas, Nevada, a move that was approved by NFL owners in 2017 and thereby eliminated the Raiders from the pool of London candidates . </P> <P> As happened with the Buffalo Bills in 2014, even franchises with relatively long lease agreements but which are otherwise seen as struggling in their own market, are often named by the media as potential candidates for relocation to London, on the basis that those advocating relocation to a more lucrative market would be offering more money than those proposing to stay put . In the specific case of the Bills, it was however suggested that the NFL would oppose relocation since they were the only NFL team which played in New York state (the New York Jets and New York Giants being located in a shared stadium in New Jersey). Another problem in moving the Bills is that the team has been non-competitive for over a decade; the Bills went without a playoff berth from 1999 to 2017, a factor in the failure of the Bills' previous international effort, the Bills Toronto Series . The Bills' lease, which is effectively unbreakable in the short - term, has an exit window in 2019 and expires in 2022, coincidentally the same year as the NFL's target for a London franchise . </P>

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