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.
the succession plan for Mark Davis’ haircut needs to be revisited ASAP
Imagine completely destroying a legacy you were gifted and still cashing in to the tune of $10 billion dollars 🙂
Sounds like another nepo baby we know but with fewer global consequences.
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.