The Las Vegas Raiders have long been one of the most storied franchises in the NFL. The late, great Al Davis is a true icon and legend not just in football but in all sports. But often, there are those who are more behind the scenes but absolutely critical to success, and for Davis and the Raiders, that person was former CEO Amy Trask.
Trask was one of Davis’ most trusted people within the organization and she was the lead person navigating the Raiders through any financial issues the team encountered for more than 25 years with the franchise.
In an interview with Hondo Carpenter of Sports Illustrated, Trask spoke about her relationship with Davis and the ups and downs that came with working with the legendary Raiders owner:
“I will just add that as much as we did love one another, there were times we wanted to strangle one another. I can’t tell you the number of times he hung up the phone on me. I would get these midnight calls, and we would have these arguments, and he would hang up the phone, or I would hang up the phone. We argued a lot, but both believed it could be productive and healthy, and it didn’t impact our relationship.”
Trask would detail different issues that the Raiders went through financially, often coming due to decisions Davis made despite Trask advising him otherwise. And the former CEO would even make a shocking revelation that even current owner Mark Davis, son of Al, was unaware of. Al Davis at one point, wanted to sell the franchise:
Then, the shocker, “At one point a couple of years before he passed away, he just got tired of it, and he said to me, ‘Let’s just sell the whole team. Let’s just sell the controlling interest. Let’s just sell it. Let’s be done with it. This is hard on you. You’re always having to find us money. You’re just going through lengths to find this. Let’s just sell the whole thing.”
But Trask talked Al Davis out of selling, and into saving the team for his son.
“I looked at him and said, ‘You want to leave this team to your wife and your son. You want your son to have this team. I will find you the money,’ and I went and found the money.”
The idea that Al Davis would even consider selling the Raiders is mind-blowing and hard to comprehend. Davis is synonymous with this franchise, and it simply doesn’t seem feasible that he would consider such a thing.
Thankfully, Trask was able to talk him out of it, and now Mark Davis is making the proper moves to get the Raiders back among the NFL’s elite, where the franchise belongs.
Raiders give Maxx Crosby $6 million raise for 2024 season
One person who will be driving that push on the field is superstar defensive end Maxx Crosby, the team’s defensive leader. Crosby is truly one of the best in the game, and the Raiders recently rewarded him financially.
In a move rarely seen around the NFL, the Raiders are giving Crosby a $6 million raise for the 2024 season without adding any extra years onto his contract. The Raiders are also moving $1.2 million from Crosby’s 2026 salary to 2025.
