Los Angeles Chargers

Five new team names the Chargers should consider if they move to L.A.

Published Jan. 20, 2016 11:02 p.m. ET

foxsports

The NFL once agreed to relocate the Browns to Baltimore, but leave behind the team name.

Those same rules don't apply to the Chargers 20 years after "The Move." They were born in Los Angeles and trademarked that title this week. It's extremely likely they'd keep their name in L.A.

But maybe they shouldn't. The Rams, not the Chargers, are seen as L.A.'s returning team. A whole generation of younger fans with no allegiance to them might gravitate toward a fresher team instead.

Here are five ideas worth considering if the Chargers want to re-brand in their new hometown:

1. Los Angeles Stars

The Chargers would play in Inglewood, not Hollywood -- but that's no reason to eschew their new town's celebrity culture. Becoming "Tinseltown's Team" has worked for the Lakers. The team could immortalize old Chargers in their own Walk of Fame, too.

2. Los Angeles Sharks

Shark-infested waters? Los Angeles has 'em. It's time for the NFL to follow suit and nickname a team after the scariest creature of the sea. Added bonus: End zone shark tanks!

3. Los Angeles Mammoths

Ancient creatures roamed Los Angeles eons ago -- before they all were stuck in the La Brea Tar Pits. They could return in the form of the city's first prehistorically-nicknamed NFL team.

4. Los Angeles Diablos

The land of perpetual heat waves deserves a team with a fiery nickname. We'd all look forward to Diablos-Raiders twice a year, too.

5. Los Angeles Express

It's a nod to the defunct USFL -- but also the town's crammed highway system. No word on whether Steve Young will un-retire to quarterback them.