The ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders has been a talking point for some time now after the long saga of former superstar quarterback Tom Brady purchasing a minority stake in the team. That was finally sorted out as Brady’s ownership became official about a month ago, but now Mark Davis is selling off some more of the Raiders.
According to Tashan Reed of The Athletic, Davis has agreed to sell another 15 percent of the Raiders to Endeavor board chairman Egon Durban and Discovery Land Company chairman Michael Meldman:
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis has agreed in principle to sell 15 percent of the franchise, according to a league source. Silver Lake co-CEO and Endeavor board chairman Egon Durban and Discovery Land Company founder and chairman Michael Meldman have each bid separately to acquire equal 7.5 percent stakes in the Raiders, the source said.
The NFL finance committee has already reviewed the terms of the sale and this could potentially be brought up for vote during the NFL’s special league meeting in December. In order for the bids to become official, 24 of the NFL’s 32 owners would have to approve.
Despite potentially selling off another 15 percent, after giving 10.5 percent in the deal to Brady, Davis will remain the controlling owner of the Raiders and maintain final decision-making power:
Davis will remain the controlling owner of the Raiders even if Durban and Meldman’s bids are approved. If he wanted to, he could sell nearly all his stakes and still keep decision-making power. That’s because, as of 2022, the NFL dropped the minimum percentage of a team that a longstanding owner must control from five percent to one percent for teams with the same owner for at least 10 years. Davis has owned the team since his father Al died in 2011, so he would fall into that group.
The value of the Raiders has increased massively since they located from Oakland to Las Vegas with CNBC valuing the franchise at $7.8 billion. While the exact terms of the deal remain unknown, Davis has undoubtedly brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in selling off these stakes of the team.
Raiders eyeing Mike Vrabel as next head coach?
Things are progressing on the ownership front, but on the field the Raiders continue to struggle and the future of head coach Antonio Pierce could be in jeopardy even after just one season.
In fact, a recent report noted the Raiders could already have their eye on former Tennessee Titans head coach and current Cleveland Browns consultant Mike Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a teammate of current Raiders minority owner Tom Brady with the New England Patriots, as their next head coach should they decide to part ways with Pierce.
