They built that market and then they abandoned it. I don't see how anyone can call that building a market. They've been gone 20 years not 20 months. I would think that the guy who's been against Spanos claiming any of the LA market despite his claims of a presence there and the fact that he's the closest wouldn't back a tenuous b.s. claim like that. Kroenke could refuse to pay, but the NFL could bill him whatever they want and keep whatever money they want. He may win the right to move in court but I doubt he wins the right to reap all the benefits of moving and none of the costs. At the end of the day he's a powerful man, but he's not Darth Vader. If he moves it will cost him, and he's no doubt well aware of that.
I don't think he actually would, it just seems to be a weird way to put it, because he probably could. If the Raiders left Oakland for 13 years, and that was their excuse for not needing to pay a fee, couldn't Kroenke argue on that same logic? Especially if market studies are showing that the Rams are still a town favorite? If 20ish years in a market was enough to excuse a 13 year absent, then 50 years should be able excuse a 20 year one. Especially if there's talks of "righting a wrong" as some mentioned before.
Again, I don't think Kroenke would do that, I think he would much rather play ball. However it sounds like he could potentially make that case if he felt he needed. That would of course mean he's just up and moving without permission, and taking on a court case against the NFL.
It just seems strange to assign the fee as a flat one based on the market, rather then based on the teams (or a flat fee that everyone has to pay). Same with going to an independent group, given they talked about wanting to control the process. What if that group determines a really low fee for the Rams, a slightly higher one for the Raiders, and an even higher one for the Chargers, but the NFL would rather Carson? Or the opposite and they would rather Inglewood? I always thought they wanted to set it up their own way. It sounds like either they don't mind, or they want an excuse to price someone out of the market, and then say "well, we didn't set it up!" To shift blame away.