Raiders plan has been in place for fresh start now, many Sundays ahead

Before the Raiders could surprise the NFL with a 2-0 start, they had to settle on a vision, then bring together the people and resources to make it work.That process reaches beyond Klint Kubiak’s hiring, Fernando Mendoza’s arrival or even the partnership between Tom Brady and John Spytek.It starts with Mark Davis.Since inheriting the franchise from his late father, Davis has always acknowledged that he knew what he didn’t know.His challenge was finding the right people to fill those gaps and giving them the means to make a difference.It has taken more than a decade, a move from Oakland to Las Vegas, and the construction of Allegiant Stadium for Davis to put his stamp on the franchise.But as the Raiders head to New Orleans seeking their first 3-0 start in five years, his larger vision is coming into focus: an organization equipped to win on the field and thrive off it.That includes a succession plan designed to provide stability should he decide to sell, a front office and coaching staff working in closer step than the Raiders have seen in decades, and a potential franchise-caliber quarterback in Mendoza.The financial transformation is unmistakable.Forbes valued the Raiders at $2.42 billion in 2018, just before they left Oakland for Las Vegas.

Its latest estimate is $10.3 billion, more than four times that figure.Estimated annual revenue of $887 million places them among the NFL’s top-five revenue-generating teams.The NFL’s financial boom helped.

But Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium fundamentally changed the Raiders’ business.Davis has also expanded the ownership group to include Egon Durban, Michael Meldman, Brady, Tom Wagner and others, bringing an infusion of capital, business expertise and influential relationships.In 2022, he hired Sandra Douglass Morgan, an accomplished attorney and respected business leader with deep Nevada roots, as the team’s president.He also put a succession plan in place, giving Durban the option to acquire controlling int...