Mark Davis: Go get a rich partner to buy part of the Raiders
When Mark Davis took over ownership duties of the Oakland Raiders, one of the first things he did was acknowledge the fact that he does not have a top football mind. He began with searching for the best possible person to head football operations and did so while relying on trusted and knowledgeable confidants like Ron Wolff and John Madden.
Relying on those who know football better than Mark enabled him to make a good hire. Reggie McKenzie has since taken the team through a few rough years on their way to being one of the youngest and hottest up and coming teams in the league.
That’s where Mark Davis has excelled as an owner, knowing his deficiencies and seeking help. Which is exactly what he needs to do in order to get the new stadium he wants.
No, I don’t mean hiring a guy who knows how to get a stadium built, they did that with Larry MacNeil. What I mean is bringing in some money. Not someone who knows money, someone who has money.
Davis has already said that he would be willing to sell a portion of the team but not so much that he would lose control. That might be something he needs to budge on. There is momentum building for a Vegas stadium but it’s by no means a done deal. What would make a new stadium a done deal would be taking the Mara family approach. Davis and his mother currently own 47% of the Raiders but under the terms of the contracts for the minority investors, the Davis family retains control over the team. Under the new rules for NFL ownership, Davis can own as little as 5% and still maintain control. That means he could sell up to 42% of the team and still maintain control.
This wouldn’t be the first time an old era NFL family brought in new money and last time it happened, it was a huge success.
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The Mara family has owned the New York Giants since they were created back in the 1920s. But in the early 90’s one member of the Mara family decided to sell their share. In came Robert Tisch and while the Mara name continued to run football operations, Tisch began to run the financial aspects. Now, the Giants are ranked as the fourth most valuable team in the NFL by Forbes.
This is what the Raiders and Mark Davis need. Someone who can infuse a lot of money into the team in order to help get a stadium built and who can continue to be involved so that the Raiders can grow financially. This is an era where the NFL is king and makes money hand over fist. There is no reason why the Raiders should be seen as poor when compared to other teams.
With new ownership who can be involved without taking the Davis name away from the Raiders is probably the best possible outcome for this franchise. The question is, will Mark Davis go back to his best attribute and recognize that he needs help.
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