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In an interview last week with The New York Times, Jones said Rams owner Stan Kroenke can move the Rams even if the NFL tries to block the move.

“As it would turn out now, apart from the league saying no, you can move there,� Jones initially was quoted as saying in the Times article published Monday. “Keep in mind that teams have moved without the permission of the league. They just have.�

But when asked if Kroenke could simply move on his own, Jones said: “He can if the league says he can’t.�

Rams sources have told the Post-Dispatch on more than one occasion this month that Kroenke will not go rogue — he would not move the franchise to Los Angeles without league approval.

Former longtime Oakland Raiders executive Amy Trask also revealed a little-known fact to the Post-Dispatch last week, namely that there are provisions in place to deter teams from relocating without league approval.

“These safeguards are really draconian,� she said. “They involve financial penalties and other penalties that really should deter teams from doing things like that without (league approval).�

Among them are forfeitures of part of a team’s annual share of leaguewide television revenue. Another is forfeiture of a team’s share of leaguewide income from NFL Properties — the league’s merchandising arm.

With the Rams, the San Diego Chargers, and the Oakland Raiders able to escape their leases after this season, the NFL is trying to “control� the Los Angeles market in terms of preventing a frenzied race into the nation’s second-largest market.

When asked by the Times if the league preferred to coordinate any relocation, Jones replied: “Again, there are just certain things that clubs can do.�

Last week’s announcement that Kroenke had reached an agreement to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, Calif., surprised many, but apparently not Jones.

“The idea of Stan going ahead and making his announcement was driven by all of the right things,� said Jones, who cited the Inglewood agreement and the fact that Kroenke owns a Rams team that has “a great legacy.�

Jones added to the Times: “All of that is to me a very positive thing for Los Angeles and for the NFL.�

When the Cowboys played the Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on Sept. 21, Jones and Kroenke were seen speaking at length before the game. There has since been speculation in league circles that Jones has advised Kroenke to do what he wants and see how the league reacts.

Jones is one of the NFL’s most influential owners, but he also has a maverick image.

In terms of a business model, a core principle in the NFL is revenue sharing. But Jones has created more income for his team by reaching his own licensing deals with sponsors. The NFL subsequently sued, and an agreement was reached between the league and Jones.

For example, Dallas markets its own apparel independently, and as such forgoes its annual shares of income from NFL Properties.

The league announced last month that no team could file for relocation for the 2015 season.

Before that announcement, the Rams were prepared to do so. But team officials also told the Post-Dispatch that the Rams would not file without a go-ahead from the league.

The Rams will opt for a year-to-year lease at the Dome on Jan. 28, a byproduct of stadium lease language that required the venue to be among the “first-tier� (or top eight) stadiums in the league.

As of now, the earliest the NFL could allow a relocation vote is expected to be the March owners meetings in 2016. It takes 24 votes, or a three-fourths majority of the 32 NFL franchise owners, to approve relocation.