Mark Davis is selling off even more of the Raiders.
One month after the team owner sold minority stakes to Tom Brady, the former quarterback’s business partner Tom Wagner, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Richard Seymour, Davis has reportedly agreed to sell off another 15% of the team. The two new minority owners would be Egon Durban, the co-CEO of Silver Lake and board chairman of Endeavor, and Michael Meldman, a luxury golf developer and Casamigos cofounder, and his family. Each would receive 7.5% stakes in the team.
Silver Lake will soon complete its takeover of Endeavor, which owns WME, an entertainment and sports talent agency that has ramped up its NFL business in recent years. WME represents 78 NFL players, including Joe Burrow, Nick Bosa, and Justin Jefferson. According to league rules about ownership and representation, if the minority sale is approved, Endeavor would have to divest from WME’s football business or somehow spin it out of Durban’s control.
“WME Sports’ football group continues to operate business as usual, and we are prepared for various scenarios as it relates to our football representation business, which is thriving. Our priority remains creating growth and opportunity for our clients and partners,” WME co-head Josh Pyatt said in a statement to Front Office Sports.
Davis, who has also owned the WNBA’s Aces since 2021, could be bringing in more investors to raise cash; he’s a rarity among NFL owners in that his primary asset is the Raiders. Former employees and top executives have in recent years accused Davis and his staff of financial mismanagement. At the same time, the team’s valuation has skyrocketed in recent years to become one of the most valuable franchises in the league. The team charges the highest price in the league for tickets, which makes Las Vegas first in the league in ticket sales and second in total revenue.
Davis and his mother owned 47% of the team before the recent sales. Brady and Wagner bought 10% together, and Seymour has about 0.5% of the team. The pieces going to Durban and Meldman will come from Davis and the Boscacci and Lovingfoss families, heirs of the original Raiders investors, according to SBJ.
The terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, but SBJ reported the sale will come at a “much higher price” than the significant discount Brady and Wagner received.
The league’s finance committee has already reviewed the proposal, and were told by Durban that he’d figure out the conflict of interest within four months of the deal closing. NFL owners meet on Dec. 10 and 11 in Dallas, where at least 24 of them would need to approve the sale.
