Cardinals sending planes to pick up Rams ahead of playoff game at State Farm Stadium

As the NFL, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings and State Farm Stadium work out logistics for Monday’s playoff game, the Arizona Cardinals are lending a hand to their division rivals.

The Cardinals are sending two planes to Los Angeles on Friday to pick up the Rams, as well as staff, families and even pets after raging wildfires in Los Angeles caused the NFL to move L.A.’s playoff game to the Valley.

The Rams and Vikings were set to kick off from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Monday at 6 p.m., but the league announced on Thursday its decision to relocate due to public safety concerns. Fires have reduced more than 10,000 structures to rubble and killed at least 10 people. The air quality in L.A. remains problematic, as the Palisades Fire was only 8% contained and the Altadena Fire 3% contained by Friday afternoon. Thousands of people have lost their homes and all of their possessions.

The Cardinals are also lending their practice facility to the Rams, as smoke was visible from their practice fields in Woodland Hills during their work day on Thursday.

Can confirm the Cardinals are sending two of the team's 777 planes to L.A. this afternoon to pick up the Rams, their staff and family members (and yes, some dogs and cats) and bringing them to Arizona tonight.

Additionally, the Cardinals are getting their practice facility ready…

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) January 10, 2025

“Many thanks to the AZCardinals, Michael Bidwill and his family for jumping in to help ahead of Monday’s game” Rams president Kevin Demoff wrote in a social media post. “We could not prepare, play or move our players and families without their help.”

To transport fans, the Rams are sending “at least” 15 buses with 750 spots available to and from Glendale, as Demoff said ticket reps are creating a signup link. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s wife, Kelly, is also securing buses to get fans to the game.

Tickets for Rams season ticket holders went on sale at 11 a.m. MST on Friday and Cardinals season ticket holders were able to buy tickets starting at noon MST.

According to NFL vice president of communications Brian McCarthy, 52,000 tickets were sold during the early window before sales opened to the general public. The Rams said their season ticket members bought $25,000 seats in the first hour.

The Rams, Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and NFL Foundation each donated $1 million to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the American Red Cross and other charitable organizations that need support the assist Southern California’s recovery efforts.

The Rams will wear LAFD hats and shirts that are available for purchase with proceeds to benefit LAFD and Red Cross. Half of the Ram’s 50/50 raffle during Monday’s game will be donated to the LAFD Foundation and American Red Cross.

Why did the NFL move Rams-Vikings?

The NFL cited public safety as the premier reason for making the decision to move the game to Arizona.

Demoff spoke to reporters on Friday and explained why moving the game was necessary beyond air quality concerns. As The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue reported, sending first responders to the NFL game during this disaster is not seen as a responsible use of resources.

“Heaven forbid a single home, car or human life was lost because some asset was diverted to SoFi Stadium, or that a firefighter who has been working non-stop for 10 days had to stay on the front line to cover for a fire fighter who had to go to SoFi Stadium,” Demoff said. “Or heaven forbid a fire break out during the game and people get an evacuation notice on their phone and have to leave.”

One of many elements for NFL to consider when deciding whether to move the game: local first responders and law enforcement officials that would be pulled out of support fighting the fires and other fallout to staff game. Usually about 100

— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) January 10, 2025

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