Is 2015 the last year in the NFC West for the Seattle Seahawks?
By Keith Myers
The greatest rivalry in the NFL could be entering its final season. The Seattle Seahawks could be moving back to the AFC West, and away from their rival San Francisco 49ers, as soon as the 2016 season.
The reason for the move comes from a report from the LA Times. The Chargers and the Raiders have become partners to build and share a new stadium in a Los Angeles suburb. The target would be for both teams to move as early as the 2016 season.
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The NFL’s bylaws state that if two teams share a market, the must be in opposite leagues. The Jets and Giants are the one example. The same goes with Oakland and San Francisco.
This means that if the Chargers and Raiders both move into the LA market, one of them would have to move to the NFC. Raiders owner Mark Davis has indicated that he’d be willing to move conferences in order to help facilitate the move to LA.
If the Raiders to the NFC, then someone will have to move to the AFC to keep the conferences and divisions balanced. That is where the Seahawks come into this equation. Seattle would be moved back into the AFC West.
The Seahawks are the team that would be moved because they were a member of the AFC West from 1977 through 2001. In fact, the Seahawks have switched conferences twice before, the most recent was in 2002. The Seahawks were actually in the NFC West in their first season in 1976, and then switched to the AFC West for the 1977 season.
While this move would break up the Seattle-San Francisco rivalry, it would mark the return of the some old rivalries for the Seahawks. Denver and Kansas City were great rivals for Seattle for decades prior to the Seahawks jumping to the NFC West.
A lot still has to happen before we know if Seattle will have to move back to the AFC. At this point though, it is important to know that the wheels have been set in motion to make that happen.