Big news has come forth for the Las Vegas Raiders. The NFL has approved the sale of 25% of the Raiders to a group led by Egon Durban, the co-CEO of Silver Lake, a global technology investment firm.

The equity being sold is from minority investors, not the controlling owner, Mark Davis, as per sources with firsthand information about the deal.

As per a CNBC report, First Football, the largest minority stakeholder in the Raiders, is selling 25% to Durban’s group at a $10 billion valuation. The total transaction rounds up to $11 billion, of which 10% is “flip tax” or sales tax, which must be paid to the league and later shared with the other 31 teams. 

When the deal is done, the consortium, including Michael Meldman, the founder and chairman of Discovery Land Co., will own nearly 40% of the team, the source reported. 

Per Michael Ozanian, sportswriter at CNBC, if the deal goes through, Davis will still be the controlling owner with 36%. Durban will become the largest minority owner with 11% of the franchise.

Ozanian further reported that the Las Vegas Raiders are currently valued at $9.3 billion and rank fourth among the 32 teams in the league. 

This isn’t the first time that Mark Davis has sold stakes in the team. Per Randall Williams at Bloomberg, Davis sold 10.5% of the team to a group of partners, which included seven-time Super Bowl legend and broadcaster Tom Brady in 2024. 

A few months later, Durban and Meldman expressed their interest in buying a stake of 7.5% with a valuation of $6.5 billion. Durban’s group was also keen on buying an additional 3.5% at that time and 3.5% more at the end of this year.

In March 2026, the NFL approved a plan that made it possible for Durban to buy a majority stake, given that Davis agreed to sell.

According to NFL writer Eva Geitheim at SI, Mark Davis remains the principal owner and has held the position since the passing of his father, Al Davis, in 2011. The Davis family have been a part of the franchise since 1963 when Al became their head coach and gained ownership of the team in 1972. 

The NFL’s finance committee has already approved the deal, said two of the sources. However, other owners are yet to vote on this matter at their second owners' meeting in Orlando on May 19.

A Wave of Limited Partners Buying Stakes in NFL Teams

The valuation of NFL franchises is rising as more partners buy stakes across teams. 

Randall Williams of Bloomberg reported that Lin Bin, a Chinese Billionaire and co-founder of Xiaomi, recently bought a 1% stake in the Miami Dolphins. This brought the team’s valuation to $12.5 billion, considered the highest valuation for any sports franchise transaction. 

The Koch family bought a 10% stake in the New York Giants at a $10 billion valuation. The New England Patriots also sold stakes to limited partners at a $9 billion valuation. 

Robert Gray, writer at Fortune.com, also reported that last year, Arctos Partners acquired a 10% stake in the Buffalo Bills at a valuation of around $6 billion.

With this purchase, do you think this will affect the front office and the athletes?

Follow Cleveland Browns Community for more.

Written by

Naomi Grace

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi