National Football League

Super Bowl 2022: Will a Rams' title win over Los Angeles?

Updated Feb. 4, 2022 7:18 p.m. ET

By Eric D. Williams
FOX Sports NFL Writer

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Workers put the final touches on the Super Bowl LVI logo at SoFi Stadium earlier this week as media members looked on.

For Katie Keenan, NFL senior director of events, Monday provided the first chance to start preparations in earnest inside Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s sparkling new facility as the league readies for the return of the big game to L.A. for the first time in nearly three decades.

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Keenan said the NFL had crews in L.A. since last month, doing what they could do behind the scenes. Having the NFC Championship Game at SoFi did set them back, but Keenan expects the league to have everything ready by the Super Bowl.

"We’ve been hosting fans all season throughout the league," Keenan said, when asked about the threat of COVID-19. "We’ve had millions of people in and out the door safely. So, we feel really good about our plan for the Super Bowl, working closely with the health department. And you’ll see the standard L.A. County protocols in place for the Super Bowl."

For Kevin Demoff, chief operating officer for the Rams, this week is a culmination of a six-year journey for this franchise once the club received approval from NFL owners to relocate from St. Louis back to Los Angeles during an ownership meeting in Houston in January 2016.

In the battle for fans in the ultra-competitive market of Los Angeles, the Rams took a huge step by reaching the Super Bowl for the second time in four seasons, hosting the NFL championship in the facility Kroenke built at SoFi Stadium.

Timing is everything. And with a star-studded roster led by an energetic, young coach in Sean McVay, the Rams finally have L.A.’s full attention.

"It’s an unprecedented opportunity for the Los Angeles Rams," Demoff said. "When you get a chance to play in the Super Bowl, that always helps win fans’ hearts and minds. When you get a chance to host a Super Bowl that obviously helps elevate your brand, the SoFi Stadium brand and the NFL in Los Angeles as a whole. When you combine those two, it’s an unbelievably powerful mix to develop that next generation of fandom."

SoFi Stadium is prepped and ready to host the big show on Feb. 13, 2022. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The $5 billion, privately financed facility sits on 60 acres — part of a 300-acre, mixed-use development three times the size of Disneyland that will include 890,000 square feet of retail and 780,00 square feet of office space, as well as 2,500 modern residences, a 300-room hotel and a 25-acre park developed in phases over time.

After a rough start in Los Angeles that included a 4-12 season the first year back and the midseason firing of then-head coach Jeff Fisher, Kroenke hit a home run with the hiring of McVay, who was 30 at the time.

That hire — preceded by the purchasing of land at Hollywood Park and completing the contentious move from St. Louis to L.A. — were two risky but successful moves that put the Rams in this position, according to Demoff.

"If it was a Hollywood script, it would get tossed out because no one would believe it," Demoff said. "Now, we still have to actually go accomplish the last step for all of that to come to fruition. But the stage is set. I don’t know if it’s what you envisioned, but it’s what you hoped for — it’s what you worked for.

"It’s the challenge that Stan put up to us from the beginning. I think it goes back to the very first day — Stan’s orders to us was not to undershoot Los Angeles, to not leave any stone unturned. I think what you see right now is a direct result to Stan’s challenge to the entire organization, to become one of the best organizations in sports and to do it on a quick timeline."

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Like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Dodgers before them, Demoff said his organization leaned into star power to generate buzz in a market that had been without an NFL team for two decades.

"The one thing I think we all talk about is we are in the entertainment business," Demoff said. "Sports is an entertainment business. Certainly here, for me growing up the ‘Showtime Lakers’ were the gold standard of the 1980s, but the Dodgers were right there with them. I remember as a kid, ‘Fernando Mania,’ and then you move on to all the great stars the Dodgers had and the Lakers had.

"I was 12 when the Kings traded for Wayne Gretzky, that amazing run and what that translated to at the Forum in those years. When you look at Los Angeles, the teams that have been synonymous with winning had star power. Maybe that’s unique to this market, but certainly, that was a blueprint that has been provided to generations of Angelenos to understand how to win."

In 2019, the Rams executed a midseason trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, securing the services of Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey for first-round picks in 2020 and 2021, along with a fourth-rounder in 2021.

During the last offseason, the Rams shipped Jared Goff, a third-round pick in 2021 and first-round selections in 2022 and 2023 for quarterback Matthew Stafford.

And during the regular season, the Rams gave up second- and third-round selections in the upcoming draft for pass-rusher Von Miller. They also signed receiver Odell Beckham Jr. after his release by the Cleveland Browns and added safety Eric Weddle during the playoffs.

Los Angeles has not made a first-round selection since taking Goff in 2016, and the Rams do not have a first-round pick until 2024.

However, despite eschewing the traditional model of building a team through the draft, the Rams have had success with their unique approach.

They’ve made four postseason appearances, winning the NFC West three times and reaching the Super Bowl twice since McVay took over as head coach in 2017.

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They’ve had the Defensive Player of the Year three times in Aaron Donald, the Offensive Player of the Year in 2017 in Todd Gurley and a front-runner for OPOY this season in receiver Cooper Kupp.

McVay was named 2017 NFL Coach of the Year.

General manager Les Snead has done an impressive job of finding diamonds in the rough such as safety Jordan Fuller, defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day, linebacker Troy Reeder and cornerback Darious Williams in the back end of the draft or as undrafted rookies to add depth to the roster.

Cap specialist Tony Pastoors has done a masterful job of managing the salary cap from year to year, allowing McVay to put together a competitive roster each season that has a chance to win the Super Bowl.

Managing salary-cap constraints is nothing new for the Rams. It’s part of the way the team has chosen to do business over the past few years to remain competitive and keep the team’s Super Bowl window open, using draft capital to trade for proven commodities and taking risks to sign players to lucrative deals, with mixed results.

The Rams received good return on their investment in players such as Donald, Ramsey and Andrew Whitworth, but also have had to deal with significant dead salary-cap money in moving on from Gurley, Brandin Cooks and most recently Goff.

"They just look at the shiny objects, the No. 1 picks, and say, ‘Well, that’s how you build a team,’" Demoff said. "Well sure, that’s great. But Jalen Ramsey was the No. 4 pick overall. And Matthew Stafford was the No. 1 pick overall. We can go and acquire those (players), and used first-round picks to do it. And maybe that’s not for everyone. And maybe it’s not sustainable. Maybe it doesn’t work long-term.

"We seem to figure it out every year, but it’s working right now. … I think one thing that sets our group apart is adaptability. It’s being willing to look at something one year and make a change the next year, because nothing is permanent."

What the Rams have tried to do is use first-round draft capital to secure proven veteran players, and then be disciplined on the compensatory pick formula and mid- to late-round draft selection, developing and using young players to replace experienced players lost in free agency.

Of the 25 starters (including specialists) that played in the Rams’ Super Bowl appearance in 2019, only left tackle Whitworth, right tackle Rob Havenstein, punter Johnny Hekker, tight end Tyler Higbee and Donald will make the start again next week.

"Certainly, there’s been more good decisions than have been bad," McVay said. "And you’re betting on the people in our players, coaches and personnel. We’re all pulling that rope in the same direction. And I think that’s critical for any sort of team."

Everything has not been perfect for the Rams. They had to delay the opening of SoFi Stadium for a year due to wet weather conditions that caused the site to flood during on-site excavation, resulting in the cost of the project to more than double. Two workers died during the construction of the facility.

While the Rams still have not reached the level of fandom that the Lakers and Dodgers hold in Los Angeles, Demoff believes the Rams can get there, starting with this year’s Super Bowl.

"I absolutely believe we can be at the level of the Dodgers and Lakers," Demoff said. "Those teams have had decades of success and championships, in building a deep, multicultural fan base. Stars, legends, Hall of Famers and building on consistency.

"The next two weeks are important, but so is 2022. And so is 2023. You cannot get to the pinnacle of this market by having one great season. You get to the pinnacle of this market by having great season after great season, after great decade, after great decade — building generations of fans with that. And that only comes with sustained success."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @eric_d_williams.