NFL in Utah?

Could Salt Lake become an NFL city?

Stranger things have happened, like, for instance, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts made news, this week, when it was reported his ownership group is seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams. According to the Associated Press, Checketts said in an e-mail, “We have the ability to get this done and we have communicated this to the Rams.”

As far as offers to buy the team, Checketts added, “We are that buyer.”

The Salt Lake angle is that Checketts is originally from Utah, as well as owner of RSL. Meanwhile, St. Louis has had a checkered history with the NFL. The football Cardinals left after the 1987 season. In 1995, the Rams moved to St. Louis.

Checketts, who already owns the NHL St. Louis Blues, has said his “main goal” is to keep the team there. Still, money talks, and if Salt Lake built a stadium before St. Louis could replace the already aging Edward Jones Dome, it might happen. The NFL already has teams in markets similar to or smaller than Salt Lake, including Buffalo, Green Bay, Nashville, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Charlotte and Jacksonville.

Because the NFL has a hard salary cap and revenue sharing, market size isn’t the ultimate factor.

For now, Checketts isn’t even hinting about Salt Lake. The area has no suitable NFL stadium.

But if the Rams struggle with attendance in the Gateway City, it could happen (they ranked No 28, last year, about 7,000 shy of capacity.)

As for the concern that Salt Lake’s LDS population wouldn’t support a league that plays on Sunday, consider this: The Jazz have always sold out Sunday playoff games.