Legal - Football Wiretap

Goldman Sachs Considering Exit From Raiders' Vegas Deal

Feb 1, 2017 12:32 AM

Goldman Sachs is re-evaluating its relationship with the Oakland Raiders' planned deal in Las Vegas following the withdraw of Sheldon Adelson from the project.

Adelson had previously committed $650 million to get the $1.9 billion project completed but announced the removal of his stake in a statement Monday.

Adelson has a longstanding business relationship with Goldman Sachs.

A source told ESPN's Darren Rovell that the Raiders' relocation application to the NFL filed on Jan. 19 also did not include Adelson.

Goldman Sachs had been in line to help underwrite Raiders owner Mark Davis' financial commitment, but with the financial giant now re-evaluating its position and Adelson's withdrawal, the entire deal could be in danger.

With the Raiders franchise being the largest financial chip in Davis' portfolio, the inclusion of Goldman Sachs would be relied upon to carry out a deal. 

Any relocation to Las Vegas must be approved by 24 of the 32 NFL team owners. A vote is expected during league meetings in March in Phoenix.

Ramona Shelburne/ESPN

Tags: Las Vegas Raiders, Legal

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Adelson Family Withdraws From Raiders' Stadium In Vegas

Jan 31, 2017 11:24 AM

The family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson have withdrawn as investors in a proposed $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed football stadium intended to bring the NFL’s Oakland Raiders to Southern Nevada.

In a statement issued late Monday, Adelson said his family “will no longer be involved in any facet of the stadium discussion.”

Adelson said he was surprised by the Raiders’ submission of a proposed lease agreement to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Thursday, noting that it has “sent shock waves through our community.”

“It was certainly shocking to the Adelson family,” the statement said. “We were not only excluded from the proposed agreement, we weren’t even aware of its existence.”

The Raiders have widely been expected to announce plans to relocate to Las Vegas during this offseason, though they would remain in Oakland until the stadium is built.

“It’s clear the Raiders have decided their path for moving to Las Vegas does not include the Adelson family,” Adelson’s statement said. “So, regrettably, we will no longer be involved in any facet of the stadium discussion.”

Adelson said “while this is not the result my family was hoping for, I am very appreciative of the countless people who have given considerable time and energy to this process, especially so many of our elected officials who have made this a top priority for Southern Nevada.”

Richard N. Velotta/ Las Vegas Review-Journal

Tags: Las Vegas Raiders, Legal

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Raiders File Paperwork For Move To Las Vegas

Jan 20, 2017 12:36 PM

The Oakland Raiders have officially filed their paperwork to relocate to Las Vegas.

The team's relocation to Las Vegas must be approved by three-fourths of the NFL's team owners. The vote for relocation is expected to take place on March 26-29 at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix.

"The application will be reviewed in the coming weeks by league staff and the stadium and financing committees," the NFL said in a statement.

Paul Gutierrez/ESPN

Tags: Las Vegas Raiders, Legal, Misc Rumor

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Raiders Plan On Filing Relocation Papers To Las Vegas

Jan 14, 2017 9:08 PM

The Oakland Raiders plan on filing relocation papers to move to Las Vegas.

The move will be made official in the coming days, but the Raiders will need 24 votes from the NFL's owners to formally make the move.

The city of Oakland has made no progress to keep the team.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said "if the (Raiders) decide that they can't make it work in Oakland and they decide that they want to file for relocation, then their window is from when they get eliminated from the playoffs to Feb. 15."

No sources would estimate a vote count, but it's headed in the right direction to receive approval.

Ian Rapoport/NFL.com

Tags: Las Vegas Raiders, Legal

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NFL Averaged 30.3M Viewers For Wildcard Games

Jan 11, 2017 1:17 PM

The NFL drew an average of 30.3 million viewers for their four Wildcard games.

Last season, the NFL had an average of 32.6 million viewers but just 29.9 million in 2015.

The 2014 games averaged 34.7 million viewers.

Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk

Tags: Legal

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NFL TV Ratings After Election Down 1 Percent Compared To 2015

Jan 6, 2017 1:44 PM

Total viewership, according to the NFL, fell an average of 8 percent among its broadcast partners in 2016 compared to the 2015 regular season, a rally from pre-election numbers (Weeks 1-9) that showed overall viewership down 14 percent.

“Presidential elections have always had an impact on our ratings, so we were prepared for a dip this season,” Brian Rolapp, the NFL’s executive vice president of media, wrote in an email to USA TODAY Sports.

NBC saw an 11 percent spike in viewers for its Sunday night broadcasts after Donald Trump won the presidential election Nov. 8. CBS saw a 9 percent bump after the first nine weeks of the season.

Viewership for weeks 10-17 were off by 1 percent compared with the same time period a season ago, according to the NFL.

NBC’s Sunday night games saw a 12 percent ratings drop and a 10 percent drop in viewers compared to 2015, the best year since the network’s Sunday night package debuted a decade ago. Compared to 2014, NBC’s ratings are off by only about 5% this season.

Sunday Night Football will be the No. 1 prime-time show for a sixth consecutive year, edging the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory (20 million viewers per episode).

A.J. Perez/USA Today

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