Magic Johnson might be bringing football into his sports empire. According to reports, the former Los Angeles Lakers star and part-owner of numerous professional sports teams is in talks to acquire stock in the Las Vegas Raiders.
Johnson has lately started assembling investors with the intention of acquiring a share of the Raiders from the family of the late Al Davis, according to Liz Hoffman and Reed Albergotti of Semafor. Although Johnson’s organisation has met with the team ownership, no agreement is about to be reached.
Johnson has been assembling a team of investors in recent weeks for a minority slice of the Raiders, which is majority owned by the family of the late Al Davis, the people said. One of them said the group was conducting due diligence with the team. A deal hasn t been finalized and could still fall apart.
Johnson’s share of the team’s acquisition price has not been disclosed, but it may “set a new record for sports deals.”
In August, Forbes reported that Mark Davis, the main owner of the Raiders, had received a proposal for an unnamed minority ownership in the organisation. In the same report, Las Vegas was valued at $6.5 billion overall, a professional sports record, with $1.3 billion of that amount being debt, mostly from the financing of Allegiant Stadium.
In 2020, the Raiders moved from Oakland to Las Vegas. As a result of the move, the city of Oakland filed a lawsuit against the franchise alleging an antitrust law violation, seeking $240 million in damages for lost investment and tax income. This month, the city of Oakland appealed, but the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear it.
Johnson, a post-career entrepreneur and five-time NBA champion with the “Showtime” Lakers in the 1980s, has ownership interests in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Sparks. His estimated net worth is $620 million. Before selling in 2010, he also had a part in the Los Angeles Lakers.
[Semafor]
Magic Johnson is interested in owning a portion of the Raiders, according to ClutchPoints.
