Raiders Owner Mark Davis Part II: Public’s Underestimation

Because Al Davis cast such a long shadow over the NFL and the Raiders, Mark Davis has been underestimated.

We’re continuing our new series, looking at Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis. Today we explore the public’s underestimation of Mark Davis.

Recently, I wrote a series on the life and legacy of Raider legend Al Davis. But since 2011, Davis’ son, Mark Davis, has taken majority control over the franchise.

In this mini-series, we’ll look at what Mark Davis has done in a career as the owner of the Raiders.

The Public underestimates Mark Davis

In business, there’s only one end goal: make money. It doesn’t matter how someone does it (as long as it’s legal) and how ethical it might be. The point of a business is to make money.

And sometimes, that means using underestimation by others to help.

Davis, unlike his father Al, is frequently underestimated by the public. He doesn’t flaunt his fortune; he doesn’t show the world each step he’s taking to get wins.

For crying out loud, Mark drives a 1997 Dodge Caravan SE and has a 2003 Nokia phone.

Ask anyone, and they’ll probably think Mark is crazy, and not much of a businessman or a guy who just happens to own an NFL franchise.

But the ingenious thing about Mark Davis is that he purposely makes people underestimate him, whether he’ll admit it or not.

It’s his business strategy.

Think about it. Your father is a legend in the NFL, let alone developed the Raiders franchise into what it is today. Some people liked him, some people hated him. He flaunted his fortune and made sure he was in front of the camera whenever possible. He made moves in his career to get what he wanted with the attitude of anything goes.

So, when the rest of the world expects something very similar out of yourself, the son of a legend, why not make the rest of the world underestimate you?

Ultimately, Mark wants wins and the Lombardi Trophy back with the Raiders franchise, just like his father did. But Mark realized early that he had to take an entirely new approach compared to his father’s.

That’s why we barely hear Mark say, “Just Win Baby,” which is a Raiders slogan. That’s why Mark wears the same white long-sleeve Raiders T-shirt and light gray jeans.

Mark purposely makes the world around him underestimate him. Without the added pressure, he can do what he wants to do: Hire and strategize.

And see, it’s been working throughout his career thus far.

For example, according to ESPN’s Tim Kenow, after a 30-23 preseason loss to the Cardinals in 2014, Mark slipped two corners of a piece of paper to his general manager Reggie McKenzie and said: “This is what I need you to get me.”

No, the media didn’t cover this. No, no one knew what was happening. But sure enough, Mark knew the weakness in his team, and he wanted it fixed.

In other words, underestimation from the public is Mark Davis’s business strategy.

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