L.A. has pulled out of the bidding for Super Bowl LIV in '20, and will bid this afternoon on only the '21 game, bid chair Casey Wasserman told THE DAILY this morning. L.A. was slated to bid for both the '20 and '21 games, along with Tampa, Atlanta and South Florida. The NFL granted L.A. a waiver to bid for '20 because the Rams' stadium, which is scheduled to open in '19, would otherwise have been ineligible under NFL rules because it would not have been open long enough. Wasserman denied there were any concerns about project risk and said the decision to decline the waiver and thus the chance to bid on the '20 game came down to not wanting to rush. The NFL is awarding three Super Bowl hosts today, including the '19 game. For that game, Atlanta, New Orleans, Tampa and South Florida are bidding. Atlanta is the heavy favorite to win Super Bowl LIII because of the Falcons' new $1.6B Mercedes-Benz Stadium opening next year. With L.A. dropping out of '20, that makes South Florida the heavy favorite. Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross has put in nearly $500M of his own money to renovate the team's stadium. That in turn makes L.A., where the Rams are building a $2.6B stadium and mixed use project, the favorite for Super Bowl LV in '21. A decision is expected by 4:15pm ET.
