On the heels of selling a piece of the team to Tom Brady and Richard Seymour, Raiders owner Mark Davis is shaving off even more of the equity in the franchise.
Fifteen percent more, in all.
Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal reports that Silver Lake co-CEO and Endeavor chairman Egon Durban has a deal in place to buy 7.5 percent of the Raiders.
Under league rules, the move would require Endeavor to divest itself of the WME Sports’ football representation business.
Said WME Sports co-head Josh Pyatt in a statement to Fischer: “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.”
The WME Sports football division is led by agents Brian Ayrault, Ben Renzin, and Joel Segal. The group represents 78 NFL players, including Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, and 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa. WME Sports represents four first-round picks in the 2024 draft, tied for second among all agencies.
Davis is selling another 7.5 percent to luxury golf resort developer and operator Michael Meldman and his family.
The total sale of 15 percent of the team comes from shares held by Davis and by the Boscacci and Lovingfoss families. They are the descendants of two of the original Raiders investors, Eugene and Arnold Boscacci.
The terms haven’t been reported. Per Fischer, Durban and Meldman will be paying a “much higher price” than the sweetheart deal Brady received — $220 million for 10 percent and $24 million of the “flip tax” tracing to the relocation of the team from Oakland to Las Vegas.
As the Raiders begin their week of preparation for the Broncos, they won’t have a few key players on the field.
Head coach Antonio Pierce said in his press conference that running back Alexander Mattison, running back Zamir White, and cornerback Jack Jones won’t practice on Wednesday.
“Next-man-up mentality — get some of these younger guys some reps, see how they do, and hopefully we get these guys back by the end of the week,” Pierce said.
With the running backs, Mattison has an ankle injury and White has a quad injury. If they’re unable to play, veteran Ameer Abdullah would step into the role of top back this week. Pierce said he’s plenty comfortable with that.
“Well especially in a game like this, because if you remember, the last time we played Denver, Ameer had a really good game — had some big plays for us, some great opportunities in the passing game, in the running game, obviously special teams,” Pierce said. “But if he happens to be the lead back this week, you feel really comfortable about him. He’s an explosive player, he’s a vet. He knows the system — very savvy. He’s making sure everybody’s comfortable, especially up front in protection — keyed in on that.”
Abdullah has been on the field for 25 percent of the offensive snaps in the eight games he’s played this season. He’s rushed for 82 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown and caught 17 passes for 76 yards with a TD in 2024.
In Las Vegas’ Week 5 loss to Denver, Abdullah rushed for 42 yards on five carries with a touchdown, caught three passes for 9 yards, and returned a kick for 23 yards.
The Raiders’ full Wednesday injury report will be released later.
More and more NFL players are mimicking the two-fisted dance from the 45th and 47th U.S. president. And the league has no problem with it.
Nor should it.
“There’s no issue with a celebratory dance such as what took place [Sunday] or the previous week with the 49ers on November 10,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Michael McCarthy of FrontOfficeSports.com, referring to multiple players who have done the dance after big plays. Brian McCarthy added that, as to broadcasting the celebrations, “It’s up to the networks to cover them as they see fit.”
It’s a story given the political undertones of the dance. But the dance itself violates no league rules. Even if the players doing the dance are doing it to make a political statement, the rules allow it.
The rules allow it the same way the rules allow a player to sit or kneel (or not put his hand over his heart) during the National Anthem.
The trend became a bigger story for the NFL in part because the Raiders reportedly shut down tight end Brock Bowers’s post-game press conference after he was asked, and answered, a question about the dance. That has led to criticism regarding the actual or perceived double standard when it comes to actual or perceived political gestures.
Why are players who don’t stand for the anthem expected to explain their stance while players who are doing the Trump dance (or wearing a hat with a political statement on the field, which violates the rules) given a pass?
Again, players can do the Trump dance all they want. It’s fully within the rules. But it’s weird, and it’s weak, for players and/or teams to slam the door on any discussion regarding the political beliefs potentially held by anyone who does that dance in public.
As currently written (if they’ve even been reduced to writing), the so-called (by me) Brady Broadcast Rules might be more of a favor than a hindrance to Brady.
That might change.
Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal reports that the rules could be expanding. The impetus apparently was Tom Brady’s sit-down interview from last month with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The session seemed to violate the spirit, even if not the letter, of the current restrictions on Brady’s activities with Fox, given his separate role as minority owner of the Raiders.
Per Fischer, owners will be asked whether they object to such interviews, and whether more conditions need to be attached in order to ensure Brady isn’t getting access he shouldn’t have.
Brady currently is prevented from attending practices, participating in production meetings, or entering team facilities. (During the Week 9 Lions-Packers game, Brady made reference to attending a production meeting. The teams told PFT that Brady did not participate in meetings with their players or coaches. Brady apparently was referring to the Fox-only production meeting, held the night before the game.)
The new restrictions could include the following, according to Fischer: (1) "[l]imiting Brady’s interaction with players to live or recorded interviews for broadcast only, to ensure the content of their conversations is known publicly, and prohibiting private one-on-one interactions before or after the broadcast component"; (2) "[r]equiring these kinds of interviews to only happen outside of team facilities, and possibly even away from team hotels"; and (3) [r]equiring prior approval and monitoring by the league and the players’ team to ensure the interview is within the rules.”
Some in league circles believe Brady is fine with the current restrictions because they provide an artificial limit to his pre-game workload. Can’t fly to town early to go to practice? That’s unfortunate. Can’t carve out multiple hours to participate in meetings with quarterbacks and coaches? That’s a shame.
That’s not just random speculation. Efforts by at least one team to waive the ban on Brady participating in the production meeting went nowhere, with a flat refusal from the league and a sense that Fox/Brady weren’t particularly interested in pushing back.
At the core of this quandary is the question of whether Brady should want to be an owner and a broadcaster. It’s impossible for him to do both to the best of his ability.
While the owners aren’t inclined to push their cool friend too hard, possibly for fear of being told to “step off,” Brady at some point will get the message they’ve been trying to send.
Pick a lane, Tommy. Pick a lane.
The Raiders made a big change to their offense when they fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy last week, but they aren’t planning any big moves this week.
Head coach Antonio Pierce said at his Monday press conference that Gardner Minshew will remain the team’s starting quarterback against the Broncos in Week 12. Minshew was 30-of-43 for 282 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in Sunday’s 34-19 loss to the Dolphins.
Pierce said he thought the passing offense was “more efficient” and “more crisp” in Scott Turner’s first week calling the offensive plays. He added that Minshew did a “good job of managing” the offense and keeping the ball out of harm’s way before being picked off while trying to push for a comeback late in the fourth quarter.
Minshew opened the season as the starter, but was benched in favor of Aidan O’Connell. Minshew moved back into the No. 1 job after O’Connell injured his thumb and O’Connell won’t be eligible to come off injured reserve for another week.
