Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson is in talks to purchase a minority ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. Magic Johnson is an NBA legend who has become a venture capitalist with his hands in many businesses across the United States. Now he wants to be part of that select group of NFL franchise owners.
Magic Johnson is said to have been assembling a team of investors conducting its due diligence with the team, and the purchasing price could set a new record for such deals.
Magic Johnson’s Magic
Currently, the franchise is owned by the family of Al Davis who managed the team way back in 1966. Though the deal is in the nascent stage there are reports of other interested moving forward to buy a stake in the team. Rumor has it that in August Mark Davis was offered USD 6.5 B for a minority stake but the deal failed to materialize and was declined. If the offer figure is true, it would be a record for any sports franchise in the world.
Ever since they moved to Las Vegas the franchise has seen a massive jump in its valuation. Prior to their shifting to Las Vegas, their valuation was around USD 2.1 B but since their move, their valuation is gone up to USD 5.1 B in 2022. The new valuation has catapulted them to the ninth most valuable team from the previous thirty-first position.
Between 2021-22 the Las Vegas Team saw its valuation jump 49%, Y-O-Y Basis, the highest jump in the history of the NFL.
Johnson had previously expressed interest in an ownership stake in the Raiders a decade ago when the franchise was looking for taxpayer money in order to build a new stadium in its original home of Oakland, Calif. Johnson had been linked to a potential investment to bring the franchise back to Los Angeles — where it played throughout the 1980s — but such a deal never materialized.
