Getty Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis.
Something fishy could be going on with the Las Vegas Raiders. So far, the move to Nevada has looked like a resounding success. The team has sold out every game and has the most expensive tickets on the resell market in the entire NFL. Allegiant Stadium has received rave reviews and the Raiders have become an attractive destination for free agents.
However, something is afoot as at least four team executives have resigned in recent weeks, including team president Marc Badain. It’s been mostly a mystery as to why there have been so many resignations but there have been some rumors pouring out. Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic recently reported that it could have to do with a tax issue. He claims that the team overpaid taxes.
The issue with the Raiders that led to the staff departures was not because of under paid taxes but because of over paid taxes, a source told me. Been a lot of talk about this in league circles in recent weeks
Mike Ozanian of Forbes also reported that the resignations are tax-related.
Tax issues could have serious ramifications, especially for a team that just made a very public move to a new state. While these reports are concerning for the Raiders, Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that the recent departures of team executives are unrelated to taxes or stadium issues.
A source told me reports of the Raiders executive departures being tied to activities tied to Allegiant Stadium are absolutely false. Has nothing to do with anything stadium, stadium authority or public money related, source said. #vegas #raiders #raidernation
Akers is in Nevada and has been a reliable source related to the Raiders’ business side of things. The truth should come out at some point. Regardless, there is certainly something going on with the team.
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Should Raiders Fans Be Concerned?
Obviously, it’s never a good sign for a company when executives start dropping like flies. When Badain resigned, it caught a lot of people in the organization off guard. One person who isn’t going anywhere is team owner Mark Davis. He’s known as one of the poorest owners in the NFL as he wasn’t a businessman before taking over the team like many owners are.
Some of those shortcomings on the business side of things could be causing issues with executives. That said, it could all just be related to the stress of building a new stadium and moving to a new city. Badain could’ve simply been burnt out and once he left, some of his fellow executives decided they’d also like to take some time off. As of right now, fans of the Raiders don’t need to be concerned. Fortunately, what happens in the front office shouldn’t affect the product on the field this season.
Football Season Can’t Get Here Fast Enough
It’s easy for fans and the media to focus on things such as front office departures in the offseason. Once the regular season starts, the focus will be solely on football. The Raiders are finally welcoming fans to Allegiant Stadium and will start making some real revenue.
Last year was tough as the team spent a lot of money on the move and didn’t have many ways to make that money back. They’ll now have games to start earning revenue. Revenue could cure a lot of the Raiders’ issues behind the scenes.
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