Raiders Owner Mark Davis "outmaneuvered everyone, including one of America's most shrewd and powerful billionaires," in moving the team to Las Vegas, using his own brand of "stubborn genius and a little bit of luck -- and with a major assist" from Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, according to sources cited by Wickersham & Van Natta Jr. of ESPN THE MAGAZINE. Within months of Davis' first meeting with Sheldon Adelson in January '16, the Las Vegas Sands Chair & CEO's legislative friends in Nevada "had done his bidding." Soon it became "known that Adelson ... was not only willing to write a check" for an additional $650M to help "defray the stadium's price tag but was also going to cover the stadium's inevitable cost overruns." The buzz in NFL ownership circles was how Davis had "suddenly come of age," after he had "tried to build credibility among owners" for years. However, some owners and execs "worried that it was Adelson's money -- and it was moving too quickly." On Oct. 14, a $750M stadium-financing package was "approved by the Nevada Legislature." When Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval "needed an assurance" that the bill would result in the NFL approving a Raiders move, Davis "promised Sandoval" he would do everything he could. Reassurance "had also come from the league's most powerful owner" in Jones. But on Dec. 2, the Raiders "presented two proposals" to the finance committee: one with the Adelson-Sands partnership and one without. Adelson "'went ballistic,' according to associates," that Goldman Sachs Managing Dir Greg Carey had "spoken about a Raiders-only option at a meeting that no one had told him about." On Jan. 30, Adelson "officially pulled out of the deal."
COMING TOGETHER: The Raiders eventually landed Bank of America for stadium financing, a "natural choice." For decades it has "served as the Raiders' bank, and not incidentally, for nearly a quarter century" it has also been Jones' bank and a Cowboys team sponsor. Davis had Jones "now in his corner." For the second time in a year, Jones "covertly took a relocation bid into his own hands." Both the league and the Raiders "appreciated Jones throwing his weight behind the project, adding legitimacy to it." Several sources said Jones' Legends Hospitality "emerged as one of a handful of suitors attempting to partner with the Raiders for the stadium's nonfootball revenue." No one was "angrier" than Patriots Owner Robert Kraft, who was a "powerful proponent of the move" to Las Vegas. Kraft told Adelson, "Jerry is running wild. I can't believe this." At a March 6 owners meeting, after the Raiders "presented a plan of how they would probably spend the loan from Bank of America ... the actual stadium debt" was estimated to be about $475M. Some owners "felt the debt was still too high; others felt it was not horrifically so." However, Las Vegas' "eternal promise -- the lure of easy cash -- proved too much to resist" (ESPN The Magazine, 4/24 issue).
JERRY'S WORLD: ESPN’s Wickersham said, "If you want to relocate now, you need Jerry Jones." There is "no question" Jones is the "most powerful man in the NFL, and if he wants something done and he cares about it, it's probably going to happen." ESPN’s Van Natta addressed Jones potentially vying for daily fantasy sports to be legalized in Nevada in exchange for advocating the Raiders' move, saying Gov. Sandoval "insisted that Jerry Jones never raised the daily fantasy sports legalization question with him." Van Natta said NFL owners "didn't want" Adelson as a "member of their club." But they used his "political influence" to "ram through" the $750M in public stadium funding (“OTL,” ESPN, 4/13).
