NFL players would prefer not to play for Oakland Raiders says ESPN poll

The Oakland Raiders have fallen on difficult times over the past few years though have always been one of the proudest franchises in the NFL. Despite that, when polled by ESPN, they were the team that most NFL players would be least interested in playing for.

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Polling current NFL talent, the Worldwide Leader asked the following fill-in-the-blank question:

"“The only way I’d play for _____ is if they doubled my salary”"

The answer, as noted above, was the Oakland Raiders.

That wasn’t the only question posed by ESPN, but it might have been one of the most polarizing.

Now, there were no reasons given as to why 23 percent of NFL players polled said they’d prefer not to play for the Oakland Raiders though one of the biggest is likely the relocation factor. No player wants to voluntarily put themselves in a position to have to deal with moving and given the rumors surrounding the franchise, it’s understandable as to why that would be a concern.

Obviously there is also the recent struggles which attribute to NFL players preferring to play elsewhere. If the Oakland Raiders were among the best in the AFC, I’d have to imagine they wouldn’t top the list considering they have a rabid fanbase that stretches well outside of Northern California.

Along with that, there is also the issue of playing in a very old stadium and one that is below sea level, thus almost always damp on the field.

So while many NFL players may avoid the Raiders currently, with an improved roster and better stadium locale, it’s doubtful they’d be the least favorite franchise. For now though, the numbers speak for themselves.

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