The Davis family is synonymous with the Raiders, whether they are in Oakland, Los Angeles, Oakland again, or Las Vegas. Al Davis made the Silver and Black a worldwide brand and a feared football team, and Mark Davis has continued to build the Raiders into a commodity that never ceases to gain value.
When Al Davis passed away during the 2011 NFL season, his only son, Mark, was the obvious heir to the Silver and Black throne. But seeing as Mark Davis has no children, and his mother, Carol, the First Lady of Raider Nation, recently passed away, there is no obvious succession plan in place.
Mark Davis is nearing his 71st birthday, and as morbid as it may seem, Las Vegas needs to prepare itself for life after the Davis family. Some incredible reporting by ESPN has revealed that those gears are already in motion, as the NFL will soon vote on the Raiders' succession plan.
NFL to vote on Egon Durban as Raiders succession plan for Mark Davis
According to ESPN's Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr., NFL owners are scheduled to vote on a succession plan that would give current minority owner Egon Durban the option to buy the majority stake in the Raiders from longtime owner Mark Davis.
Now, nothing is imminent, as Wickersham and Van Natta Jr. noted that Davis is not looking to sell the team. But owners will also be voting on Davis selling another 7% stake in the Raiders to Durban and another minority owner of the team, Michael Meldman.
"Although sources close to Davis say he has no intention of selling his majority stake, the vote would mean that if and when Davis, or his heirs, did decide to sell, Durban, a limited partner, would have the option to buy the club. Owners would then have to approve Durban as the new controlling owner, per league rules."
The annual NFL owners meeting is on March 29, and that is when the vote will take place. If the aforementioned sale goes through, the Raiders would then be worth north of $10 billion. And, it would give Las Vegas what most perceive to be a smooth succession plan.
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While Durban and Meldman already each own 7.5% of the Raiders, the newest proposed sale would see each then own roughly 11% of the team. This gives Davis less equity in the team, but much more cash in his pocket. It should be noted that Durban is a confidant of Tom Brady, as Albert Breer noted.
Durban is also a co-CEO of Silver Lake, an investment firm based that focuses on technology and technology-enabled investments. Meldman is an American businessman best known for being the founder and chairman of Discovery Land Company and the co-founder of Casamigos tequila.
It would be weird to see the Raiders owned by someone other than the Davis family, as Al Davis became a part-owner back in 1966. Plenty has changed in the NFL and the world at large since then. But not the Davis family being heavily involved with the Silver and Black.
That said, this was bound to happen at some point, given the fact that Mark Davis has no obvious heir. Again, nothing is imminent, but the Raiders and their diehard fanbase should have more information at the end of the month when the NFL owners meet.