"Philip Rivers does not imagine himself as a mogul. The San Diego Chargers' $92 million quarterback views wealth as a byproduct, not a purpose.

Days after it was disclosed that Chargers' owner Alex Spanos was prepared to sell off a piece of the franchise, ostensibly for estate planning purposes, Rivers was fully invested in indifference. Asked if he might want a piece of the action, Rivers indicated that he prefers to leave high finance to the financiers.

"I've got enough going on," he said. "I don't know much at all about it. So I'm asking you: What's the deal?"

It was a good question, one deserving of an authoritative answer, but the meaning of Spanos' maneuver is shrouded by suspicion, cloaked by coincidence and obscured by apprehension. In interpreting the behavior of billionaires, face value only goes so far. Like the King of Siam, as articulated by Oscar Hammerstein, "In my head are many facts of which I wish I was more certain I was sure."

What we can say with confidence is that Alex Spanos is 87 years old, afflicted by dementia, and unlikely to live forever; that Forbes valued the Chargers at $907 million three months ago, and that the Spanos patriarch still owns 36 percent of the team; that the federal estate tax on that asset alone could run into the $150 million range as of Jan. 1, 2011, and that that's a ponderous pile of cash to be raising on short notice.

Less clear is what the Spanos sale means to stadium efforts in San Diego and Los Angeles, and what it says about the likelihood of an NFL lockout for next season. Though it can certainly be read as a step toward the exits, as an opportunity to provide out-of-town buyers with a vested interest in getting a new stadium built, it could also be a simpler case of spectacular market timing."