Raiders owner Mark Davis still has no intention of selling his majority stake in the franchise, but that won’t stop the NFL and the organization from preparing a succession plan.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, league owners will soon vote on a plan that would give Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban the first opportunity to buy the team. The vote is expected to take place at the annual league meeting on March 29.
Durban is currently a limited partner within the organization. Back in late 2024, NFL owners approved the sale of a 15 percent stake in the Raiders to Durban and fellow limited partner Michael Meldman, the founder of Discovery Land Co.. Durban and Meldman currently each own 7.5 percent of the franchise.
If the vote goes through, it would allow Durban to buy the Raiders if and when Davis or his heirs decided to sell. League owners would still have to approve that transaction, but the upcoming vote will signal whether the other 31 teams are open to letting Durban join their exclusive club. Per Schefter, the NFL’s Finance Committee has already approved the “option agreement.”
At the same time, owners will also vote on Davis immediately selling a roughly seven percent share of the franchise to Durban and Meldman. That would put the valuation for the franchise at around $10 billion. Last August, Forbes valued three organizations at more than $10 billion: the Cowboys ($13 billion), Rams ($10.5 billion), and Giants ($10.1 billion).
Davis still owns close to 75 percent of the franchise. Besides the sales to Durban and Meldman, Davis famously sold a five percent stake in the franchise to Tom Brady back in 2024. That transaction also saw Knighthead Capital Management co-founder Tom Wagner purchase a five percent stake, while Hall of Fame defensive end Richard Seymour purchased a 0.5 percent stake. As SI.com’s Albert Breer notes, Durban is “Brady’s guy,” so there’s clear support for the sale from within the organization.
The organization has been in the Davis family since Al Davis purchased the franchise back in 1972. The Raiders quickly emerged as one of the premier teams, winning three Super Bowls between 1972 and 1983. The team has only had 10 playoff appearances (including one Super Bowl loss) since. Mark Davis took over ownership when his father passed away in 2011. Under Mark’s leadership, the Raiders have had a pair of winning seasons and zero playoff wins, with the Raiders shuffling through eight head coaches (not including interim HCs) over that span.
A polite NFL way to tell Davis ‘We built that stadium, you’re rich, and you need to go.’.
Child please.
Name one other franchise where this has happened. It’s all quiet until the owner dies or sells. Not a ‘long term view of new ownership’ less family.
Research is your friend. Wealthy people plan ahead.
Name another pro team where a minority owner asks to buy years out.
Name another NFL team where the owner has never been married, has no children and no siblings, and both parents are deceased. So therefore no heirs. Mark will be 71 in May. Supposed he died tomorrow? This is called planning ahead.
Paul Allen of the Seahawks. Himself, not the NFL, organized it the franchise to be run by his sister.
Who of course was a relative. Mark Davis has zero living family members. I see reading comprehension isn’t your strong suit.
Name 1 time in pro sports where the league designated a new owner when the current owner is alive. Never before.
Name 1 team in pro sports that had this ownership situation.
Also why the hell do you care about this? Is this going to gave any effect on your life? Is it going to effect any other team in the league? I’ve been a Raider fan for almost 60 years I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about it.
There’s a first time for everything. Get over it and go find something important to get your panties in a bunch over.
Every team in pro sports is NOT owned by the leagues. Not that hard to comprehend. To answer your next question, it’s a public sports site with a comment section, do you comprehend that? If you don’t like my comments, don’t comment.
Wow. Thank you for proving that you have the reading comprehension skills of my dog. Where in the hell did I ever say that teams were owned by the league? (and BTW typing words in all caps: really stupid. Also it should be are and not is).
I’m well aware its a public comment forum but you never came close answering my question as to why this situation seems to upset you so much but I will thank you for being a complete moron who kept me amused during a tedious late Friday afternoon conference call/contract negotiation
So good luck to you and I hope the NFL resolves this matter to your satisfaction..
Answer the question. When did a pro sports league decide whom will control/own a team after the dead of the current ownership.
the succession plan for Mark Davis’ haircut needs to be revisited ASAP
Great Clips is running a March Madness discount. For $12 he could fix that god awful bowl-mullet
Lol I saw that commercial too. Crazy, all those resources and that’s the haircut he chooses
It’s crazy what you can get away with when you’re rich.
Imagine completely destroying a legacy you were gifted and still cashing in to the tune of $10 billion dollars 🙂
The American way.
Sounds like another nepo baby we know but with fewer global consequences.
Did your dad disappoint you?
Once upon a time in the 60’s 70’s and 80’s the raiders were a highly successful franchise and now look at them
Yep, the good old days when Matuzak and Alzado were on the Roids, Stabler smoked on the bench, stickem was worn by everyone who touched the football and Madden was king. Dang, I miss those days, and yes I am serious.
Didn’t realize Richard Seymour owned a share of the Raiders. Good for him.
The key is Brady. His purchase of a small percentage is just the beginning, it’s all being done for the long term. In the next few years investors will demand a winner. Brady and his group will eventually have controlling interest and will bring in high profile co-owners with smaller investments. It’s all a process. From here on out it’s all good for Raiders Nation.
It’s been clear that Mark is a bit out of his ‘league’ trying to manage the franchise yet I find the concept of other owners defining ‘to whom’ one must sell is a bit more than arrogant, even for billionaires.
Imagine selling your house within a neighborhood, or one of those dreaded hoa pieces of shite, and they determine who can be a buyer thereby limiting competitive offers.
Al would be furious
Does anybody on here have an idea of what Al
Al Davis, the real Raider