Al Davis first jumped on board with the Raiders in 1963, and the Davis name has been synonymous with the franchise ever since. As much as The Shield is an iconic logo and the Silver and Black are revered colors, the Davises are also legendary for being one of football's greatest families.
When Al Davis passed away in 2011, the franchise was handed to his wife, Carol, and his son, Mark. Mark Davis has been the face of the operation since his father died, and when Carol passed away last fall, it was both upsetting and startling. The Davis family may soon leave the Silver and Black for good.
After all, Mark is already 71 years old, and he has no children to bequeath the organization to. It makes sense, then, that Las Vegas has begun selling off significant shares of the franchise and already put a succession plan in place. And Mark Davis thinks that Raiders fans will love it.
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis believes fans will love likely next owner Egon Durban
Egon Durban, an executive for Silver Lake, a global technology investment firm, is that succession plan for Las Vegas. He'll have first dibs if Davis passes away or decides to give up his share of the team before then. And they wouldn't have this plan in place if all sides didn't feel good about it.
But Durban is buying more and more pieces of the franchise as time drags on, and he now owns 22% of it. Davis, for reference, owns 36%, and needs to own at least 30% as a legacy owner to maintain his principal ownership. Part of this firesale is about wanting new ideas. The other part is money-driven.
Nothing is imminent, though. Davis doesn't sound like a person who is wanting to part with the franchise before he meets his maker. He told The California Post's Vincent Bonsignore as much during a recent exclusive interview.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Davis said. “I’m incredibly excited about the future, and I’ve got plenty of time and energy for this.”
That doesn't mean that Davis isn't clearly angling the Raiders for life after him. And he seems fairly confident in saying that Durban will be the principal owner when he is gone. Not only that, but Davis is sure that this fanbase will welcome him with open arms and love him.
“Egon is somebody that I think will take the Raiders into the future, once I’m gone,” Davis said. “And I think Raider Nation is going to end up loving him when they get to know him and understand that he wants to win.. And that’s what it’s all about.”
Obviously, time will tell on that front. Winning goes a long way in fans being happy with ownership. But it sounds like, even though nothing is official, perhaps Durban will keep creeping up on Raider Nation and taking on a bigger and bigger stake, and maybe even more responsibilities before he takes over.
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