Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis is a polarizing figure, and that’s putting it lightly. Still, it turns out there’s a timeline of events where he doesn’t end up owning the Silver and Black following his father’s passing.
The Raiders, both on and off the field, have seen some turbulent times under Mark. The move from Oakland to Las Vegas is still a sour chapter in team history, at least for some fans. On the field, the team hasn’t seen much success either. It’s a far contrast from what the legendary Al Davis experienced in the 20th century—three Lombardi Trophies, in case you didn’t know. However, his final years were a downward spiral.
With just a couple of years remaining in his life, the elder Davis pondered selling the team—the controlling interest. Earlier this week, former CEO Amy Trask (a Raiders legend in her own right) spoke up about what nearly went down, courtesy of Hondo Carpenter’s podcast.
“Let’s just sell the whole team. Let’s just sell the controlling interest. Let’s just sell it. Let’s be done with it. This is hard on you. You’re always having to find us money. You’re just going through lengths to find this. Let’s just sell the whole thing.”
Clearly, Davis was over it toward the end of his life.
What might’ve been for the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders?
Trask countered, however. She, ever the reliable executive, found the financing necessary to ease the transition to Mark taking the reins. Even so, we all recall that Trask resigned from the Raiders back in 2011 amid a tumultuous relationship.
At this point, it’s been years since all of this took place, and surely for most fans, it’s a moot point, whether they’re fans of the job Mark has done. Nevertheless, what if the team goes to a different owner or group? Does the move to Las Vegas still happen? Say what you will, but the Raiders have become one of the most valuable teams under his guise. Now, we wait to see if 2024 will be the beginning of on-the-field results.
*Top Photo: Getty Images