A's Future: Oakland, Sacramento and Vegas

A's currently have a TV deal with NBC Sports California for the next few years. The broadcast deal would need some modification even if the A's leave Oakland 80 miles away to the Sacramento area. NBC Sports California might be looking at this situation as a perfect opportunity to get out of a deal with the A's that is not returning upon their heavy investment. The A's might be at the will of NBC Sports since they have no other regional TV situation to pivot to with short notice. This could mean the A's will take a cut on the amount they receive in restructuring a deal with the NBC Sports, but still receive revenue from them going forward. This could become a win-win for both sides in the end. As far as fans are concerned, I would speculate nothing would change, as NBC Sports California would still be able to broadcast to the same market at a fraction of the cost.

My next thought turns to Oakland. What was/is the Oakland/A's discussed for a deal. Did Oakland play too hard in terms of creating an extension? They might have lost an opportunity to be first in line if the Vegas deal fell through. Oakland by no means is in the business of doing the A's any favors, but city of Oakland could have potentially gotten something out of the situation that benefited them and kept them in dialogue with the A's going forward. I don't fall into the camp thinking that keeping the A's name/brand/colors was ever really realistic. Publicly position a hard line and truly negotiating that stance is a significant aspect to what the A's decided to do with their temporary home decision. I tend to believe that Oakland had to have much more realistic dialogue with the team based on the initial reports of those discussions from both sides. The A's very well might have opted to cut the cord with Oakland all together if something presented itself that was close to what the were to get out of an Oakland extension.

Now, where are the A's with Las Vegas? Is Oakland officially done with any hope of keeping the A's if their temporary home is to be Sacramento? Is anything any clearer as we move forward?

It's truly hard to say. I tend to believe A's and Las Vegas still have plenty to figure out. A's ownership has struggled mightily to get positive momentum going there. There are natural ebbs and flows to getting a stadium done but many of the obstacles in the way could at the very least delay the A's planned opening for 2028. That could mean the A's are to play in Sacramento even longer. A move to Sacramento and delay to a Las Vegas stadium (or any stadium) could also potentially mean A's are stuck as a nomad team for longer. There's no turning back at that point, as Oakland will be moving on as well to their next order of business. The truth is, everything is murky, and an Oakland and A's relationship will need to have many things occur for it to become a reality once again.