City Of Oakland

NFL Helped Raiders Secure Vegas Funding?

April 15th, 2017 at 2:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

When the Chargers announced in January they were taking the NFL up on its offer to join the Rams in Los Angeles, the NFL foresaw a possible route to San Diego for the Raiders. The league did not want that, so it shifted focus from helping the Raiders procure a new stadium in Oakland to making sure the Las Vegas deal didn’t fall though, Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN.com report in an expansive story chronicling the Raiders’ move to Sin City.

As the Raiders’ Vegas deal was flailing after the departures of Sheldon Adelson and Goldman Sachs in during the winter, league executives joined Raiders president Marc Badain in contacting Bank of America, according to Van Natta and Wickersham. The company soon replaced Adelson as a backer, injecting new life into the Raiders’ Vegas venture, and pledged a near-$1 billion line of credit to cover cost overruns from the impending stadium construction project.

Jerry Jones also played a role in this key chapter of the Raiders’ relocation process. Mark Davis said to Jones at one point last year, “you screwed me on L.A.” and Jones began to act feverishly to help the Raiders relocate. The Cowboys owner put his full support behind the project, something the league and the Raiders appreciated, according to the ESPN reporters, and attempted to procure financing for the endeavor. But some around the league are concerned with the fallout.

Jones’ push helped bring some owners off the fence, paving the way for the 31-1 relocation vote. But it irked another influential owner. Robert Kraft took exception to Jones’ stake in Legends Hospitality, a merchandise and concessions company that could stand to benefit from the $1.9 billion stadium deal.

Sources told Wickersham and Van Natta that Legends emerged as a contender to partner with the Raiders for nonfootball revenue. Kraft spoke to Adelson, a longtime friend who played a key role in helping secure the Raiders the record $750MM in public money before stepping aside due partially to a falling out with Davis, and told him “Jerry is running wild; I can’t believe this.” Adelson, according to the ESPN reporters, then said he would “kill” the Raiders’ deal in Vegas if Kraft wanted. But Kraft, who had been a backer of the Raiders’ effort, did not want to exercise that prospective option.

Kraft wasn’t the only high-powered NFL figure who was suspicious of Jones’ help here. The Dallas owner helping sway his peers while potentially factoring into the stadium’s finances would cause “a major conflict of interest,” a longtime aide to an NFL owner told ESPN, who added the question of “won’t Mark Davis always be beholden to Jerry Jones?” Bank of America has served as the Cowboys’ bank for 25 years, along with a team sponsor. It’s also the Raiders’ longtime bank.

Davis and NFL executive VP Eric Grubman were working toward different goals, with Davis concentrating solely with Vegas and Grubman working to keep the Raiders in Oakland. Grubman, who also attempted to work with St. Louis last year while Stan Kroenke set his sights on Los Angeles, concluded in December — according to ESPN — Oakland did not have a viable proposal. At that same December league meeting, Badain called Oakland’s proposal a “political, cover-your-ass joke” and said in October, per ESPN, “it would have been better if (Oakland) had offered nothing.”

“The stadium proposals received from Oakland are dependent on various contingencies and involve a number of significant uncertainties that membership concluded cannot be solved in a reasonable time,” the league’s statement on the Raiders’ relocation reads (via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com, on Twitter), also citing the lack of Oakland progress in a two-year period after the league denied relocation applications in 2015 and placed the Raiders behind the Rams and Chargers in the Los Angeles pecking order a year later. “The proposal to relocate to Las Vegas involves a clearly defined and well-financed proposal for a first-class stadium.”

AFC West Rumors: LT, Raiders, San Antonio

March 30th, 2017 at 9:10am CST by Zachary Links

LaDainian Tomlinson has joined the Chargers as a “Special Assistant to the owner of the team,” according to a press release. It sounds like Tomlinson will not have a part in front office decisions as his job will focus more on fan relations. His presence could help smooth over tensions with San Diegans who are feeling scorned by the team’s relocation to Los Angeles.

“L.T. is one of the most beloved and iconic Chargers of all time,” said Chairman Dean Spanos in the statement. “His active involvement in our fight for Los Angeles is vital, and he represents the very best of what it means to be a Charger on the field and in the community.”

Here’s more from the AFC West:

It sounds like we won’t see major progress in the Raiders‘ extension talks with Derek Carr until May or later. “He knows what we’re trying to do in free agency, and he’s never saying, ‘I need to know now. It’s not like that,” GM Reggie McKenzie said, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. “More likely, the serious talks will happen after the draft. The communication has been ongoing, just talking about the philosophy of a contract and the thought process around it. Hopefully when the serious talks start going, then it’s going to be easier.” McKenzie also indicated that an extension could be on the way for right guard Gabe Jackson. The Raiders will also discuss a new deal with Khalil Mack, but they have more time on that front thanks to his option for the 2018 season.
Multiple cities have reached out to the Raiders expressing interest in being their temporary home, including San Antonio, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets. It’s possible that we could see the Raiders make a pit stop on the way from Oakland to Las Vegas.
The Broncos will add a third quarterback, but that player is likely to be a young veteran or a rookie.
The Chiefs hosted linebacker Rey Maualuga on a visit this week.

NFL Approves Raiders’ Move To Las Vegas

March 27th, 2017 at 1:10pm CST by Zachary Links

NFL owners have voted to approve the Raiders’ proposed move to Las Vegas, Nevada. With at least 24 votes in favor of the relocation, the road has been paved for the Raiders to leave town and start anew in Sin City. The final tally was 31-1, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link), with the Dolphins as the only nay vote.

For many Bay Area fans, this is a crushing blow. The Oakland Raiders were born in 1960 as a member of the revolutionary American Football League. The city of Oakland lost its team in the early 1980s when it migrated to Los Angeles, but the Raiders returned for the 1995 NFL season. Now, more than 20 years later, the Raiders are leaving all over again and, this time, it’s probably for good.

On Monday morning, Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf asked the NFL to hold off on voting, but that was a low-percentage shot in the dark likely designed to try and salvage Schaaf’s standing with dejected Raiders fans. Owners reportedly still like the Bay Area as an NFL market, but they did not agree with Schaaf’s assertion that Oakland has put forward a viable stadium solution. The Raiders have secured a record $750MM in public money for their new LV digs and that will be a major bargaining chip for the league in its future efforts to get stadiums built with taxpayer funds.

Even with the green light from NFL owners, it remains to be seen where the Raiders will play their games between now and when the $1.9 billion stadium is built. The Raiders will play in Oakland in 2017 and they have pledged to play there in 2018 as well. However, if the local fan reaction is too much for the Raiders to withstand, they may want to blow the popsicle stand early. UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium could serve as a temporary host for the team, but it will probably need upgrades to meet league standards. If things go south this year in Oakland, those upgrades will have to be in place sooner rather than later.

Oakland Asks NFL To Delay Las Vegas Vote

March 27th, 2017 at 11:49am CST by Zachary Links

The mayor of Oakland is asking NFL owners to hold off voting on the Raiders’ proposed move to Las Vegas, as Josh Dubow of The Associated Press writes. The league is set to hold a vote during this week’s meetings in Arizona and it is said to be at the top of the agenda.

“Never that we know of has the NFL voted to displace a team from its established market when there is a fully financed option before them with all the issues addressed,” Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement, adding that the city has put forth a $1.3 billion plan for a new stadium that would be ready in five years. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t do everything in my power to make the case for Oakland up until the very end.”

At this point, “everything” in Schaaf’s power doesn’t include much. The city of Oakland has declined to build the Raiders a new state-of-the-art stadium largely bankrolled by public funds. Local government has instead opted to back a brand new facility for the Oakland A’s, leading the Raiders down the Vegas path. Meanwhile, owners seem to have made peace with concerns about legalized gambling in Nevada and how it could potentially affect the integrity of the game.

If 24 of the league’s 32 owners approve the Raiders’ relocation to Las Vegas, very little will stand in the way of the move. That vote is scheduled to go down in a matter of moments and Schaff’s last-ditch effort probably won’t buy her additional time.

AFC Notes: Browns, Raiders, Steelers

March 26th, 2017 at 7:22pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

While the Browns are likely to move on from newly acquired quarterback Brock Osweiler before he ever plays a down in Cleveland, head coach Hue Jackson indicated Sunday the 26-year-old will have a chance to compete for the team’s No. 1 job, tweets Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald. It’s difficult to take Jackson seriously in this case, however, and Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com senses that he’s uninterested in trying to transform the former Bronco and Texan into a viable starter. As such, the Browns remain on track to jettison Osweiler via trade or release, Cabot writes.

The latest on a couple other AFC teams:

Count Jets owner Woody Johnson among the many around the NFL who are unimpressed with the city of Oakland’s attempt to keep the Raiders. “They didn’t make a valiant effort,” Johnson told Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link). It seems fair to infer from Johnson’s comment that he’ll vote in favor of the Raiders’ relocation bid Monday. The Raiders’ Mark Davis will need 23 yes votes from the league’s other 31 owners to realize his Vegas goal. He’s unlikely to have difficulty garnering approval from his colleagues, two anonymous owners told the Associated Press. “Not only have no hurdles been made clear to us, but there isn’t any opposition to it,” said one. Added the other, “It’s going to happen and the sooner we do it, the better it is for the league and for the Raiders.”
Pittsburgh took a serious run at inside linebacker Dont’a Hightower in free agency before he re-signed with the Patriots, which Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert addressed Sunday. “We made an attempt (to sign Hightower). It didn’t work. We’re fine, we move on,” said Colbert (via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). The Steelers also lost stalwart ILB Lawrence Timmons in free agency, though Colbert insists that they’re “very confident” that Vince Williams is capable of stepping up in the wake of Timmons’ departure. Williams has only started six games since an 11-start rookie campaign in 2013, though, and played just 25.7 percent of the Steelers’ defensive snaps last season. It “remains to be seen” if the 27-year-old has what it takes to be a three-down player, offered Colbert.
A far more prominent member of the Steelers, running back Le’Veon Bell, is entering a contract year as the team’s franchise player. Long-term negotiations between the two sides will ramp up after the draft, per Rutter. “It will be a very complicated type of deal,” said Colbert, who added that locking up Bell “always has been our goal.” The leaguewide deadline to re-up franchise tag recipients to multiyear pacts is July 15, which will give the Steelers two-plus months to get a deal done with Bell if they take a post-draft approach.

Roger Goodell Addresses Raiders Relocation

March 26th, 2017 at 9:04am CST by Dallas Robinson

With the hope retaining the Raiders, city of Oakland and mayor Libby Schaaf submitted an updated stadium proposal last week, but commissioner Roger Goodell wasn’t particularly impressed with the specifics of the plan, as he detailed in a letter to Schaaf, per David Debolt of the East Bay Times.

“The material that we reviewed earlier today confirms certain information that had previously been communicated orally, such as a willingness to bring bank financing to a stadium project, and a proposed valuation of the land at the Coliseum site,” Goodell wrote to Schaaf. “It also confirms that key issues that we have identified as threshold considerations are simply not resolvable in a reasonable time. In that respect, the information sent today does not present a proposal that is clear and specific, actionable in a reasonable timeframe, and free of major contingencies.”

In other words, Schaaf’s “updated” strategy was not updated at all, but rather a rehashing of the same plan the city had been presenting for some time. Indeed, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News reported Friday that Oakland’s new plan “did not move the chains forward,” while Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets neither the NFL nor the Raiders have a different view of the situation as a result of Schaaf’s letter.

“Despite all of these efforts, ours and yours, we have not yet identified a viable solution,” Goodell wrote. “It is disappointing to me and our clubs to have come to that conclusion.”

Instead, the Raiders’ intention to relocate to Las Vegas appears all but finalized, and NFL owners are expected to vote Monday on the club’s plan. The Raiders and owner Mark Davis will need to garner 24 votes (out of 32) in order to move to Sin City, at which point they’ll pay a cheaper relocation fee than did the Rams and Chargers to move to Los Angeles. Additionally, the Raiders have secured a record $750MM in public money for a $1.9 billion stadium in Vegas.

Relocation Notes: Vegas, Oakland, UNLV

March 25th, 2017 at 3:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

With a Raiders relocation vote coming Monday, both Oakland and Las Vegas have presented their cases. But the perception is Sin City’s plan outflanks Oakland’s. The owners appear to be coming around to the once-laughable notion of an NFL team anchored in Vegas.

“From a gambling standpoint? That’s a joke to even say that’d be a problem,” said one AFC owner, via Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com. “That was an issue decades ago. Now? Sports gambling is going to be legal. We might as well embrace it and become part of the solution, rather than fight it. It’s in everyone’s best interests for it to be above-board.”

An NFC owner was less bullish, saying “[The concern] is not 100 percent put to bed, but it’s relatively put to bed.” Not many owners’ views here are known publicly, but the feeling’s become the Bay Area is in real danger of being a one-team region again. A third team could relocate in a 14-month stretch not necessarily because the owners are on board with Vegas but due to the lack of a what’s seen as a viable plan in Oakland.

One NFC team president told Breer if this situation were “apples to apples,” the Raiders would not be on the verge of moving. Another also didn’t characterize many as being behind a venture into Nevada, but noted there might not be another choice.

“My general sense is no one is opposed to it, but it’s hard to find a lot of people that are really that in favor. It’s not negative, it’s just that most are like, ‘This is perfectly fine.’ … The bottom line is Oakland has no plan,” said an executive for an NFC team, via Breer, before Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf unveiled the city’s last-ditch attempt to keep the team.

Here’s more from Breer and others on the league’s latest relocation effort.

This about-face on Vegas does come after the Raiders secured the record $750MM in public money, but this still strikes Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio as strange given where the league was on this issue a few years ago. Florio notes the league as recently as 2013 didn’t want to hold games in Las Vegas, and spokesman Brian McCarthy took a stronger tone regarding the presence of gambling on the NFL in 2009. “If you make it easier for people to gamble then more people will. This would increase the chances for people to question the integrity of the game,” McCarthy said in 2009 during an NFL crusade to keep sports betting out of Delaware. “Those people who are upset will question whether an erroneous officiating call or dropped pass late in the game resulted from an honest mistake or an intentional act by a corrupt player or official.” Florio notes that owners will have a decision to make on this since Raider players will now be living in the nation’s gambling capital, should 23 non-Mark Davis owners vote for the move.
The Raiders have previously pledged to play in Oakland in 2017-18 if they receive Vegas approval, but that would create a strange set of circumstances. The franchise will have floundered for most of its second Oakland stay only to rebuild into a contender for two lame-duck years. Breer notes the NFL will likely want an escape hatch if this season goes poorly in Oakland. UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium would serve as the backup temporary venue, but the 40,000-seat site needs upgrades, per Breer, to become NFL-compliant.
Some owners may want to delay this vote, but Breer notes that might not make much of a difference at this juncture. Bank of America swooping in after Sheldon Adelson and Goldman Sachs bolted the project illustrated the endeavor’s viability in the eyes of most owners, Breer reports.
Conversely, Vegas’ economy relying largely on tourists and transplants is a gamble for the Raiders, the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Noting the Raiders’ not-so-recent struggles on the field and a potential economic downturn as reasons Davis could be making a risky bet, the Chronicle believes it’s “outrageous” the owner hasn’t met with the city of Oakland in more than a year.

Extra Points: Raiders, Steelers, Jeffery

March 24th, 2017 at 10:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

The city of Oakland is attempting a last-ditch effort to keep the Raiders in advance of what promises to be a seminal vote Monday at the owners’ meetings. But this latest $1.3 billion proposal may not be enough to stop the owners from green-lighting a Las Vegas move. Oakland’s updated pitch “did not move the chains forward” with the NFL, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News reports (on Twitter). The league is reviewing the proposal, but Bonsignore adds (Twitter link) the core issues at the root of the NFL’s reluctance regarding this project are not resolved. Bonsignore does not estimate the project can move forward (Twitter link) as presently constructed, setting the stage for a possible third Raiders relocation. This belief would stand to continue the league’s pessimism on the Oakland front.

Here’s the latest from Oakland and the rest of the NFL.

The Fortress Investment Group’s involvement in this project may not be a plus investment for the Raiders, who would “have to be in desperate straits” to sign up for an arrangement in which the team wouldn’t have much stake in its own stadium, Stanford economics professor Roger Noll said, via J.K. Dineen of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Even if Las Vegas doesn’t work out, the Raiders could get a better deal in San Diego or St. Louis,” Noll said. “There has never been a major league sports team that has had a deal like this where a third party is the main financier of the stadium and the main beneficiary of the revenue it generates.” The project would in large part be financed by a Fortress loan of $600MM, along with another $500MM loan backed by seat licensing fees, Dineen reports.
Dont’a Hightower agreed to take less money from the Patriots than he would have gotten from the Jets as a UFA, but the Steelers also offered the linebacker a better deal, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. Pittsburgh offered the sixth-year linebacker a deal that would have paid him more then $9MM per year. He signed to stay with the Patriots for $8.7MM AAV. However, both the Steelers and Jets were concerned with Hightower’s health. This led to the Jets pulling their offer after Hightower’s physical. La Canfora adds the Jets and Steelers felt they were being used as leverage during this process.
Mark Sanchez‘s one-year Bears deal is worth $2MM, with $1MM guaranteed, Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports (on Twitter). The journeyman backup can earn another $2MM in incentives.
A thorough piece on Adam Schefter — by TheMMQB.com’s Tim Rohan — revealed a phone conversation ESPN’s chief NFL reporter had with Alshon Jeffery during the first day of free agency. Rohan reports Jeffery called Schefter asking him how much money the other UFA wide receivers were going to sign for. “It’s all about the guarantee, Alshon,” Schefter said, per Rohan, who noted players sometimes call the longtime NFL reporter with similar queries. “It’s all about the guarantee … Your average per year could be $100 million. It doesn’t matter. If they’re going to guarantee you the majority of the contract, that’s what you want.” Jeffery, who signed with the Eagles, does not remember the events unfolding like this. “I NEVER sought advice from media before I decided to sign my contract with the Eagles,” Jeffery tweeted. The wideout who is attempting to shake off an injury- and suspension-marred past two years signed with Philadelphia for one year and $9.5MM ($8.75MM guaranteed).

Latest On Oakland Stadium Plan

March 24th, 2017 at 6:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

In what could be the city’s last-ditch effort to keep the Raiders, Oakland has submitted an updated stadium proposal. Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf revealed the revised plan for a $1.3 billion facility for the franchise, Jim Trotter of ESPN.com reports.

Schaaf sent a letter to the NFL regarding specific contributions from the entities who have a financial role in this project, which includes aid from the Fortress Investment Group and the Oakland City Pro Football Group. Instead of having a murkier financial stake in this operation, Fortress will play a part similar to Bank of America’s in Las Vegas’ stadium proposal, Trotter reports.

The NFL is reviewing the letter, Andrew Dalton of the Associated Press reports.

“At the end of the day this is the decision of the Raiders and the NFL,” Schaaf told Trotter by phone. “What I am confident about is, if the Raiders want to stay in Oakland we have a viable plan to build them a stadium with no upfront money from them, in financial terms that I believe are more favorable to them than the terms in Las Vegas — what we know of them.

“And then, of course, we have something that Vegas can never offer, and that’s legacy and loyalty.”

Fortress is now set to contribute $650MM to this stadium, a 55,000-seat venue slated to be built on the current Oakland Coliseum site. The AP pegs Fortress’ stake at $600MM. The Raiders and the NFL are tabbed to contribute $500MM, with the city of Oakland — with assistance from Fortress — putting forth $200MM, Trotter reports. The Oakland Athletics would continue to play in the Oakland Coliseum while the football-only stadium is being built.

Relying to some degree on tradition here, Schaaf is banking on the NFL slowing down on what’s been a reinvigorated Vegas push. The Raiders, though, have not engaged in substantive discussions with their current city in months. They’ve instead devoted all their efforts to Vegas, securing the crucial Bank of America backing after Sheldon Adelson and Goldman Sachs dropped out. The team needs 23 additional votes to move to Nevada.

The Raiders’ latest relocation vote is expected to take place at the owners’ meetings Monday in Phoenix. The Las Vegas relocation fee is not expected to be close to what the Rams and Chargers paid to move to Los Angeles, and the Raiders secured a record $750MM in public money for a $1.9 billion stadium in Sin City. Schaaf reached out to Roger Goodell on Wednesday, but as of then no significant progress had been made between the league and Oakland. The city having no viable plan up to this point has it well behind going into the meetings, but the league reviewing this latest proposal reveals Oakland might still have a glimmer of hope.

“I recognize that this could be our final chance, but we have worked so hard these last two years,” Schaaf said, via Trotter. “We’ve put together a viable deal that satisfies many requirements that we believe is the best deal for the Raiders and the NFL. We hope that they give it full consideration on Monday.”

AFC Notes: Jets, Bengals, Raiders, Fins, Colts

March 23rd, 2017 at 6:16pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson took to Instagram in an effort to combat a recent report that he’s “terribly out of shape” (via Connor Hughes of NJ.com). “They say I’m fat and out of shape?” Wilkerson said while running on a treadmill. “Haha. Keep sleeping on me. I’m telling you.” It seems the scout who assessed Wilkerson’s conditioning was exaggerating, as photos (links here) the 27-year-old posted on Instagram earlier this month shoot down the idea that he’s in poor shape. Still, though, Wilkerson is coming off a disappointing 2016 – the first season of a five-year, $86MM contract – and could end up a cap casualty as early as next offseason if he doesn’t bounce back. Wilkerson notched 4.5 sacks last year (down from 12 in 2015) and ranked as Pro Football Focus’ 15th-worst qualified edge defender (109 qualifiers).