I think litigation may be a very small part of tbe decision making.
Working in Manhattan is logistically so much more difficult. The massive complex in Southern California will be able to accommodate everything. I just got an inside scoop from someone who is involved with marketing for the new stadium.
I live in Manhattan. The league office is a ten minute walk from Grand Central Station, which connects the city to Connecticut and suburban NY by a 30 or so minute train ride...depending on how much you can afford to spend for a house...the office is also a quick cab or subway from Penn Station where you can easily connect to northern new jersey...in fact, i'm pretty sure that commuting by car in the LA area, where I have been stuck many times in monumental traffic jams in LA and around LAX, is far more difficult "logistically."
You might well be right that the nfl would do something like that but i still think that ny is at the heart of the major media markets that drive the league's success...new york...new jersey...philadelphia...new england...the dc area, including baltimore and virginia...and we shouldn't forget that it's a hop skip and a jump to Pittsburgh and just a couplof hours by jet from atlanta, tampa, miami, carolina and tennessee...a little farther to chicago, indiana, wisconsin....
LA will have two teams with others nearby in vegas and sf...but LA is essentially a single media market whereas the Boston--Washington/Virginia corridor is a compact entity...
Still, you might be right, but i just don't see it as a smart move...but, as a Pats fan, far be it from me to say that the NFL always makes "smart" moves....