Following a strong lobbying effort by Barron Hilton and Frank Leahy of the Los Angeles Chargers, the American Football League awarded its eighth franchise to the group from Oakland. The Oakland partnership consisted of eight men: developer Art Beckett, restaurateur Harvey Binns, stockbroker Don Blessing, contractor Charles Harney, developer Ed McGah, manufacturer Robert Osborne, contractor Chet Soda, and developer Wayne Valley.

Former Navy football coach and Millbrae resident Eddie Erdelatz, currently a candidate for the opening with the University of California position, said he would be interested in coaching the Oakland team.

The league transferred the signing rights of the Minneapolis/St Paul draft picks to the new team, though a number of the players had been signed by other AFL teams in the meantime.