The Raiders’ search for a new stadium is becoming more complicated by the day. Coliseum City, Carson, St. Louis… is there even a most-likely scenario at this point? I’m not sure there is. But this much has become increasingly clear: Mark Davis’ biggest obstacle in the process is cash – or lack thereof.
How cash-strapped are the Raiders? According to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole, who was a guest on CBS Sports Radio 920 in St. Louis, Davis’ financial situation is dire enough that some owners around the league would like him out. Cole said there’s also a scenario that could occur where Davis may not be able to afford to keep the Raiders.
“We’ll all find out what happens when Mark Davis’ mom passes away and what the inheritance tax looks like, and what his burden is, and whether he can keep the team or not. Again, we’re talking about a guy who does not have deep pockets and isn’t really going to get a lot of help from the NFL to solve his issue because quite frankly, the NFL owners, they’ll never say this publicly, but they would like Mark Davis out. They would like an owner with deep pockets to take over that team.”
Cole added that the fear around the league is that Davis might not bring stability to a new city such as St. Louis or Los Angeles.
“You always know that if Mark Davis is the owner, he’s always got one eye about whether he wants to go back to Oakland or not because that’s home or whether he wants to go somewhere else because he doesn’t have the money.”
To this point, Davis has only gone on record to say he does not intend to sell the Raiders and he wants to keep them in Oakland. At the same time, if you follow the money, the project in Carson seems to be getting his undivided financial attention.
If there’s a scenario where Davis won’t be able to afford to keep the Raiders, which city do you suppose would add the most value to the sale… Oakland or Los Angeles? Maybe something to file away for later.
Get him out!