I forgot about the UFC as well. Once you dig beneath the surface, you realize the arguments about potential corruption and gambling don't hold much weight. Let's also not forget that all the big game fixing and point shaving scandals (Boston college, Tim donaghy, etc...) involved organized crime elements located on the east coast. Sports betting in Nevada is one of the most highly regulated industries out there.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the entire Davis' family net worth is based solely on the value of the football team. Unlike most other NFL owners who were rich with other companies/ventures long before they were owners, the NFL team was the primary source of their escalated wealth.... factor in that Mark Davis is only an owner because he inherited the team at his father's death, and I'm guessing that he's not the most savvy or experienced when it comes to business protocols.
Captain Trips has come and gone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76jy3zJ9_PE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76jy3zJ9_PE
Football was sufficiently popular before any fantasy leagues came around. It's the single highest consistently rated program on all of television. Once the AFL taught them how to expand west of the Mississippi and sign black players it was over.
Just realize at a certain level of wealth, most of it is rarely in any kind of immediately liquid form, and cashing out could probably have tax implications or just bad investment opportunity costs. The types of people who get and keep billions of dollars don't do so by spending it, they do so by being tougher negotiators who leverage the other sides' knowledge and fear that they can afford to walk away.
It was popular... but fantasy football has taken off as a multi-billion dollar business. In the process, broadcasting rights fees for the NFL took off exponentially.... you can't deny that the two are somewhat hand-in-hand. (rights fees would have continued to go up... but possibly at a decreased rate.) Fantasy football is everywhere... just as omnipresent as the actual games on Sunday.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"The Raiders are Vegas" - <a href="https://twitter.com/ColinCowherd">@ColinCowherd</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HerdHere?src=hash">#HerdHere</a><a href="https://t.co/DNJpL0COIL">https://t.co/DNJpL0COIL</a></p>— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHerd/status/693131981517824000">January 29, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
That was how it started, yes, but he's got money in the bank after this many years. Dude has a bowl cut, drives a minivan and rocks a fanny pack. I love it. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13735322/are-mark-davis-raiders-leaving-oakland
No doubt, he has money... Just saying he has had zero experience in building/running a business other than the football team... Which we all know can be far from the proto-typical business. There are actually a few legacy families in football (that didn't have any other sources of wealth till the football team made it big)... The Halas' (founding NFL members), the Hunts, and the Rooney's come to mind.
I think Mark Davis is perfectly OK with being perceived the way he is. So he drives a ****ty car and eats at Hooters. He's flexing that muscle somewhere else. You can be sure of it.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl-says-no-rule-against-raiders-move-vegas-201923933--nfl.html NFL says no rule against Raiders move to Vegas
I think this is a 1 percent chance it could happen but i would love a team in Vegas. Again, I think the NFL is the only thing that can work long term in Vegas. Cowherd is correct in saying that a lot of potential ticket and luxury suite buyers work at night during the week when there is a NBA, NHL, MLB game going on. The NFL is mostly on Sundays and only 8 regular season games. They can support that. Plus, the NFL is the sport that fandom cuts across all demographics. Male, female, black, white, liberal, conservative, young, old, etc. Hockey would be terrible long term there.
"We are moving forward with the stadium concept with or without an NFL team," Abboud said Thursday. "We see a lot more opportunities — conference championships, bowl games, NFL exhibition football, boxing, soccer, neutral site games, and music festivals. There is an entire segment out there." <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The domed stadium plan at UNLV would include 65 percent public financing<a href="https://t.co/LN6NlpHmxV">https://t.co/LN6NlpHmxV</a> <a href="https://t.co/nXvvvUxV3d">pic.twitter.com/nXvvvUxV3d</a></p>— Las Vegas RJ (@reviewjournal) <a href="https://twitter.com/reviewjournal/status/693641125723156482">January 31, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Raiders to file relocation papers to move from Oakland to Vegas The dominoes are falling. Very sad day for Raiders fans. The Black and Silver were finally back after a decade of losing. Now with a young and exciting team with a great future ahead, and Davis wants to bolt for greener pastures. Oh well, sorry San Antonio!
