It seems as though the Oakland Raiders may very well capture the attention and eyes of the NFL during the offseason, with their impending deal with Las Vegas currently in disarray. Reports Monday night showed that Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson pulled out of the current deal in place, in an argument with owner Mark Davis.
When the Raiders originally elected to file relocation papers, they understood a deal could get done, especially with the help of Goldman Sachs. The deal that was in place involved Goldman Sachs giving $650 million to the Raiders, with help from Adelson in order to pay off a majority of the $1.9 billion owed.
The breaking news Monday night put the NFL world in a frenzy, as Davis has gone through the process and left both sides on the edge of their seats. With both investing sources backing out of the deal, Davis would have to find sources from different places in order to form a new deal.
AsIan Rapoport of NFL Network states, Adelson’s ties with Goldman Sachs put the Raiders in a toxic situation moving forward:
Power of Sheldon Adelson: #Raiders move to Vegas is in jeopardy with him pulling out & his ties to Goldman Sachs. This could be his legacy
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 31, 2017
It appeared that Adelson approached the negotiating table with one deal in mind, with assorted out values that would work for all three sides. When Davis and the Raiders brass came with a counter offer, Adelson reportedly pulled his proposal off the table and dropped out.
Now that his ties have been cut, the Raiders have officially moved on with their process of relocating. In a statement released by the organization on Monday, they thanked the Adelson family for their integral role in getting the Raiders to that point in the process and that they will be moving on without him.
The Raiders originally had until Feb. 15 to decide upon the relocation process, filing the necessary paperwork well before. With that step being completed, Davis doesn’t have a real deadline moving forward and that this can possibly only be a bump in the road of relocating:
Important note on #Raiders & Sheldon Adelson: There is no real deadline. Bad negotiating days like today are bad. But not fatal. Stay tuned.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 31, 2017
While fans in Oakland are hoping that this shows potential signs of life for a return to Alameda County, they must also realize that the organization needs to come to agreement on either funding a new stadium, playing in the current Oakland Coliseum for an agreed upon time, or supplying some more funding to the Coliseum in hopes of an improved stadium.
Plenty of rumors and stories will be published moving forward regarding the Raiders and their current scenario, as both the fans and the media will critique the roller coaster ride in store for Davis and his franchise.
