The San Diego City Council voted 7-2 to discuss an arrangement that might allow the team to develop city property and build a new stadium at no cost to taxpayers.
Under terms of the team's current lease, the Chargers were able to trigger an escape clause if player salaries extended beyond a financial benchmark tied to gate and broadcast revenue.
The trigger, which began March 4, gives the team a 90-day period to negotiate a new lease with the city or find other suitors. If no agreement is reached, the team has 18 months to get an offer from another city and bring it back to San Diego to match.
The Chargers pay the city about $5million a year in rent. However, because the existing lease calls for the city to reimburse the Chargers for unsold tickets, the team gets most of that rent back. Since 1997, the city has paid the team $31m for unsold tickets.
A new lease would eliminate the ticket subsidy and any triggers and would require the team to pay the city a flat rent on Qualcomm Stadium.
