The man who has it all discovers something he cannot fully grasp.
Tom Brady’s efforts to acquire a stake in the Raiders have failed. He and major shareholder Mark Davis have agreed to the deal. The league must approve the purchase, but has not yet done so.
Nothing happened at this week’s ownership meeting.
“No, we never discussed this,” Colts owner (and finance committee member) Jim Irsay said Wednesday, via Jori Epstein of Yahoo.com.
two weeks ago, Washington post reported that No action expected.
There appear to be a number of potential reasons why Brady’s bid to acquire 5% of the 10% stake in the Raiders failed. From opposition to new rules offering stock options to employees (which Davis voiced opposition at the meeting) to Brady’s upcoming broadcasting career at Fox, Davis charged Brady “about a 70 percent discount,” hesitantly There are many reasons.
The bottom line is the bottom line, Irsay said Wednesday. “The number has to be a reasonable number for the purchase price,” Irsay said.
Why would other owners care if Davis wants to give his new best friend a really good deal? Owners have a very strong interest in maximizing the value of all equity in each franchise. If Brady buys 5-10% of the Raiders at a relatively cheap price, that becomes a potential roadblock when another owner tries to sell his or her franchise.
As the NFL explained when it closed the door on offering stock options to employees, potential antitrust violations lurked in plain sight. Business owners should be allowed to sell any, part or all of their business to whomever they choose, however they see fit. The problem for Davis is that he has agreed to be bound by Mullard’s rules and regulations.
There is currently no reason to think Davis will attempt to file an antitrust lawsuit, as he may ultimately be denied permission to sell part of the team to Brady. However, if any owner was willing to do so, it was the son of the man who had already sued his partners under antitrust laws.