Mark Davis (American football)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mark M Davis (born May 18, 1955) is an American businessman and sports franchise owner. He is the controlling owner and managing general partner of the
Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) and the owner of the
Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
(WNBA). He is the son of
Al Davis Allen Davis (July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011) was an American football coach and executive. He was the principal owner and general manager of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) for 39 years, from 1972 until his death in ...
, the principal owner of the Raiders from 1972 until his death in 2011. Upon the elder Davis's death, Mark along with his mother Carol Davis inherited ownership of the Raiders with Mark taking over as operating head of the franchise. As of October 2015, Davis has an estimated $500 million net worth.


Early years

Davis was born in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
to Al and Carol Davis. He is a graduate of
California State University, Chico California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had ...
. Prior to inheriting co-ownership of the team, Davis was involved in the retail part of the Raiders' business where he helped develop their Raider Image stores. He also spent time in the Raiders equipment department where in 1986, he developed the muff-style hand warmer for football. In 1980, Davis represented Raiders player
Cliff Branch Clifford Branch Jr. (August 1, 1948 – August 3, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders during his entire 14-year National Football League (NFL) career. He won three NF ...
in contract negotiations with the team which resulted in a deal that included an
annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, ...
(active until Branch's death in 2019) and got Mark kicked out of his father's house for being too close to the players. He later lived with Branch when the team moved to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.


Professional sports


Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

Davis and his mother, Carol, inherited the team after the death of his father,
Al Davis Allen Davis (July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011) was an American football coach and executive. He was the principal owner and general manager of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) for 39 years, from 1972 until his death in ...
, in 2011. Mark and Carol own a 47 percent share of the Raiders through Al's company, A. D. Football, Inc.; the stake is contractually structured to give them
controlling interest A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the majo ...
. Mark took over his father's old post of managing general partner and became operating head of the franchise. He controls the Raiders' day-to-day operations and represents the Raiders at owners' meetings.


Relocation to Las Vegas

Davis gained control of the team towards the end of the Raiders lease with the
Oakland Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...
, a facility that dates back to 1965 and had multiple issues due to its age. It was also at the time the only facility that still housed both a
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
and NFL team, a major point of contention for both leagues. As such, Davis put himself in charge of an effort to construct a new stadium for the Raiders, an issue that his father Al was never able to solve in his tenure as owner. He initially stated a desire to keep the Raiders in
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
(preferably on the Coliseum site) or the immediate area. Due to the lack of a stadium plan, Davis began to communicate with representatives in other cities such as Los Angeles,
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
, and
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. In late February 2015, Davis announced that the Raiders would pursue a shared stadium in
Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...
, with
Dean Spanos Dean Alexander Spanos (born May 26, 1950) is the chairman and owner of the National Football League (NFL)'s San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers franchise. He is the son of Alex Spanos, who purchased majority interest in the team in 1984. Spanos to ...
and the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
. Davis' and Spanos' proposal directly competed with and eventually lost to
Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Stan Kroenke Enos Stanley Kroenke (; born July 29, 1947) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the owner of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which is the holding company of Arsenal F.C. of the Premier League and Arsenal W.F.C. of the WSL, the Los ...
and his proposed stadium in Inglewood. Until after the Carson vote Davis was also actively working towards a resolution in Oakland. In an interview, he said "we are trying everything possible to get something done in Oakland right on the same exact site we're on right now". However, after a dispute over rent in Oakland where the city raised the rent on the team after the Carson plan failed and due to lack of what Davis saw as a credible plan from Oakland, Davis began exclusive discussions with Las Vegas. He initially teamed up with
Sheldon Adelson Sheldon Gary Adelson (; August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns ...
to get a stadium in Las Vegas though after funding was acquired for the stadium Adelson was cut out of the deal. On March 27, 2017, the National Football League officially approved the Raiders move from Oakland to Las Vegas in a 31–1 vote, ensuring them a new stadium in the process.


Las Vegas Aces

On January 14, 2021, Davis agreed to purchase the
Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
from MGM Resorts International. The purchase was approved by the WNBA and NBA on February 12, 2021. Prior to owning the team, Davis had been a Aces' season ticket holder and a frequent attendee at home games. Davis said that discussions to purchase the Aces began shortly after he remarked to MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle at a game that the players should get paid more. Prior to making a formal bid, he had a meeting with Aces forward
A'ja Wilson A'ja Riyadh Wilson (born August 8, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wilson played for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball, South Carolina ...
to gauge her thoughts about him taking over the team. Shortly after the purchase of the team by Davis, ground was broken on a training facility for the Aces in
Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...
next to the Raiders facility. The 50,000 square foot facility will house the Aces’ practice facility, offices, training room, weight room, hydrotherapy space, physical therapy area, locker rooms, a lecture hall, player and alumni lounges, and an on-site day care center and is expected to be completed by March 2023. In May 2021, Davis hired former
LSU Lady Tigers basketball The LSU Tigers women's basketball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I women's college basketball. The team’s head coach is Kim Mulkey, the former head coach at Baylor University, who was hired on April 25, 2021 to rep ...
head coach
Nikki Fargas Yolanda Nicole Fargas (; born May 21, 1972) is an American women's basketball, basketball coach and executive. She is the president of the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA. Fargas was formerly the head coach for the women's basketball programs at UCLA ...
as team president. On December 31, 2021,
Becky Hammon Rebecca Lynn Hammon ( rus, links=no, Бекки Хэммон; born March 11, 1977) is an American-Russian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the Women’s National Basketball Associa ...
was hired as head coach in a deal that made her the highest paid coach in the WNBA. The Aces won the
2022 WNBA Finals The 2022 WNBA Finals, officially the WNBA Finals 2022 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2022 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The finals featured the fi ...
in four games, bringing the franchise its first championship, Las Vegas its first professional sports championship, and Davis his first championship as a professional sports owner.


Philosophy and management style

In his ownership of the Raiders, Davis has focused on business matters while leaving on-field matters to the football operations staff. This form of management is in stark contrast to his father, who was well known as one of the most hands-on owners in professional sports. Al Davis became general manager of the Raiders in 1966 after returning from a short stint as AFL commissioner, and remained head of football operations after becoming principal owner in 1972. He exercised near-complete control over both business and football matters until his death. In 2013, Davis fired the Raiders public relations director because of a ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' article that was critical of Davis' father. Davis stated that the director's replacement needed to understand the importance of his father's legacy and actively protect it. In his ownership of the Aces, Davis has focused on business matters while also dabbling in team operation matters when necessary.


On domestic violence in the NFL

Davis spoke out publicly on the issue of domestic violence in the NFL, following
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
defensive lineman
Ray McDonald Raymondo Antoine McDonald (born September 2, 1984) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida, where he was a member o ...
's arrest on August 31, 2014. Davis disagreed with
Jed York John Edward "Jed" York (born March 9, 1981) is an American businessman who is the CEO of the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise. York is the son of Denise DeBartolo York and John York, and nephew of former 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. Ea ...
's decision to keep McDonald on the active roster, proposing that the league should suspend any player arrested with pay while "the investigation moves forward" This was the first proposal of this kind following the Ray Rice assault video surfacing, that specifically called for an immediate suspension of players rather than leaving the decision to suspend up to the respective franchises themselves. In March 2015, Davis again went public on the issue of domestic violence, shutting down rumors that the Raiders' started negotiations with
Greg Hardy Gregory McKarl Hardy (born July 28, 1988) is an American former football defensive end, mixed martial artist and professional boxer who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He played ...
, who was convicted on domestic abuse charges earlier that year. The Raiders' organization has traditionally been vocal about domestic violence issues, with direct involvement with the Tracey Biletnikoff Foundation, created by Hall of Famer
Fred Biletnikoff Frederick S. Biletnikoff (born February 23, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons and ...
to support community substance abuse treatment and domestic violence programs.


On social justice and player protests

Davis has spoken out publicly on the controversial National Anthem protests in the NFL, where players kneel during the playing of the pre-game National Anthem to protest perceived social injustice and police brutality on African Americans. Davis originally preferred his players to stand, but after comments made by President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
calling protesting players "Sons of Bitches" and saying they should be fired for kneeling, Davis changed his stance. In a public statement the following weekend he stated, "About a year ago before our Tennessee game I met with
Derek Carr Derek Dallas Carr (born March 28, 1991) is an American football quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, where he twice received first-team All- MWC honors, and w ...
and Khalil Mack to ask their permission to have
Tommie Smith Tommie C. Smith (born June 6, 1944) is an American former track and field athlete and former wide receiver in the American Football League. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Smith, aged 24, won the 200-meter sprint finals and gold medal in 19.83&nb ...
light the torch for my father before the game in Mexico City," Davis told ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. "I explained to them I was asking their permission because I had previously told them that I would prefer that they not protest while in Raiders uniform. And should they have something to say once their uniform was off, I might go up there with them. Over the last year, though," Davis continued, "the streets have gotten hot and there has been a lot of static in the air and recently fuel has been added to the fire. I can no longer ask our team not to say something while they are in a Raider uniform. The only thing I can ask them to do is do it with class. Do it with pride. Not only do we have to tell people there is something wrong, we have to come up with answers. That's the challenge that's in front of us as Americans and as human beings." In May 2018, Davis abstained from an NFL owner resolution on the anthem protests that called for players to stand or stay in the locker room until after the anthem is played or face a team fine for kneeling, locking arms or raising their fist. Davis abstained along with
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
owner
Jed York John Edward "Jed" York (born March 9, 1981) is an American businessman who is the CEO of the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise. York is the son of Denise DeBartolo York and John York, and nephew of former 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. Ea ...
after speaking out on social justice issues to the other owners. In April 2022, Davis stated that he would welcome
Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt du ...
to the team with open arms if general manager
Dave Ziegler David "Dave" Ziegler (born September 7, 1977) is an American football executive who is general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Ziegler previously served in various roles for the New England Patriots event ...
and head coach
Josh McDaniels Joshua Thomas McDaniels (born April 22, 1976) is an American football head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL career in 2001 with the New England Patriots, where he served as the offensive coo ...
wished to sign him stating that he believed in him and that "he sacrificed a lot of the things that he could've been doing in his life to get a message across about police violence and equity and inclusion in America, and I stand by that."


On the Washington Football Team workplace conduct investigation

Davis has spoken out in favor of a written report of the
Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...
workplace conduct investigation and the release of such a report in stark contrast to the other NFL team owners who oppose releasing a report and the NFL announcing a report would not be forthcoming. A year-long independent investigation into the Washington Football Team's workplace culture under owner
Daniel Snyder Daniel Marc Snyder (born November 23, 1964) is an American businessman and owner of the Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He bought the team, then known as the Washington Redskins, ...
, led by lawyer Beth Wilkinson, was concluded in July 2021 and found that several incidents of
sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
, bullying, and intimidation were commonplace throughout the organization under his ownership. Davis said that the public and possible victims deserve a written report. Information leaked from the investigation in October 2021 showed that Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, then employed by
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, wrote emails over a 10-year period to then-Washington Football Team president Bruce Allen that included racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language. Gruden resigned as head coach of the Raiders shortly after information in the emails were leaked to and reported on by the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
. Davis has in addition criticised the NFL for not disclosing the Gruden emails to him and the Raider organization when the league discovered them in June 2021 as part of the investigation so action could have been taken by him and the team before the start of the 2021 season.


On player pay and accommodations in the WNBA

Davis has spoken out in favor of increased pay and better accommodations for players in the WNBA. In response to criticisms of WNBA player salaries due to a low league
salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...
and what is considered sub-standard league accommodations from Aces player Liz Cambage after Davis signed Aces head coach
Becky Hammon Rebecca Lynn Hammon ( rus, links=no, Бекки Хэммон; born March 11, 1977) is an American-Russian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the Women’s National Basketball Associa ...
to the most lucrative head coaching contract in WNBA history worth over $1 million dollars Davis stated "We have to be paying these women commensurate to what their abilities are and what they're doing. On the front office side and the coaching side, there is no salary cap. Becky Hammon didn't want to be a million-dollar coach. But I wanted her to be a million-dollar coach. Because I thought that she would be, in a sense, when the
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
started, they had a television contract. And they had Joe Namath. And Joe Namath had the $400,000 contract and he sparked the imagination of everybody that 'This league is real.' "I felt that giving Becky Hammon the million-dollar contract ... would then show everybody that there is value here. Liz Cambage kind of came out with a statement, and I agree 100 percent with what she says. That the players do deserve more money. That they don't need to be flying on commercial flights. ... I agree with all of those things and those are things that the Las Vegas Aces are going to be champions of, and that we're going to grow for the good of everybody in this league."


Personal life

Davis says he is a food connoisseur and has said that his favorite restaurants include Dan Tana's in Los Angeles, California, Joe's Stone Crab in Miami Beach, Florida, and P.F. Chang's. Davis is known for his signature bowl haircut and for driving a 1997
Dodge Caravan The Dodge Caravan (and the long-wheelbase Dodge Grand Caravan) is a series of minivans that was manufactured by Chrysler from the 1984 to 2020 model years. The Dodge version of the Chrysler minivans, the Caravan was marketed as both a passenger v ...
SE which is outfitted with a bubble-top Mark III conversion kit as well as a VHS player mounted to the ceiling. Davis donated $10,000 to the Gridiron PAC between 2016 and 2017. In June 2022, Davis donated $1 million to the
Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) is a public school district based in Uvalde, Texas, US. Located in Uvalde County, the district extends into portions of Zavala and Real counties. In addition to Uvalde, the district ser ...
to help fortify the schools following the
Robb Elementary School shooting On May 24, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former student at the school, fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers, and wounded seventeen other ...
after talking to former Raiders player
Vann McElroy Vann William McElroy (born January 13, 1960 in Birmingham, Alabama), is a former professional American football defensive back who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). A , , safety from Baylor University, he was selected by ...
who lives in Uvalde.


Awards and honors

* 2022 WNBA Champion (as owner of the
Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...
)


References


Further reading

*
Profile piece on Mark Davis done in 2014
from
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Mark 1955 births Living people Oakland Raiders owners Las Vegas Raiders owners Las Vegas Aces owners Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish American sportspeople 21st-century American Jews