The NFL made a strong pitch to owners on the virtues of the Oakland market at last week's league meetings, presenting a case to counter the Raiders' intended move to Las Vegas. We previously reported that was the league office's intention.

Eric Grubman, the NFL's point-person on stadium issues, presented data from a detailed market study that presented the various strengths and weaknesses of a host of existing and potential NFL markets based on economic, spending and population data. The study was conducted by an outside research firm and much of that showed that Oakland (especially when factoring in the overall Bay Area market) was rated as a higher potential market, according to sources at the meeting.

Raiders' execs came to the meeting with their own studies that highlighted the overall strengths of Las Vegas as an NFL market. The battle for the hearts and minds of the other owners is in full swing, with Raiders owner Mark Davis pushing to get a vote on a relocation as soon as possible, but the NFL continuing to explore options in the Bay Area, and with a particular eye toward possible league assistance in developing the area around a new stadium there.

Raiders owner Mark Davis is pushing for a relocation vote as soon as possible. USATSI

After the NFL had finished its presentation, Davis again vocalized to the full ownership contingent present that he will file relocation papers as soon as possible in January, the sources said, and team president Marc Badain was very critical of the league's outside study during the session about the potential move.

"Badain basically stood up and said the league's study was BS," one source said. "And he had two of his studies that looked nothing like the one Grubman presented."

Davis also vowed that any lingering issues between him and outside developers/financers would be resolved well before anything came to a relocation vote.

"Basically, Mark was just pretty much saying, 'We're going, we're going, we're going," according to another source present at the meetings.

Regardless of which market studies prove to provide the clearest picture about the potential merits of Vegas football, the NFL has the ability to slow or stall this process, and it seems unlikely Davis gets any relocation vote before the spring, sources reiterated. And even then some league sources believe the NFL could procure the nine votes against a move while continuing to explore options in the Bay Area.