Richard Seymour has officially become a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders alongside his former teammate, Tom Brady. But even securing a 0.5% stake, like Seymour, is a rigorous process. The former defensive end recently explained just how complicated that process was and named an unlikely hero who helped him along the way.
Advertisement
Seymour mentioned Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, as someone who helped him immensely in becoming a minority owner of an NFL franchise. He added that because he is in the Hall of Fame, there is a lot of “red tape” that he had to tip-toe around. For instance, he had hours of conversations with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Raiders owner Mark Davis. Seymour’s top references received the same treatment, as they also had to speak for hours with Goodell and Davis.
The NFL clearly wants to ensure that its owners are legitimate, make sound business decisions, uphold the league’s reputation, and are serious about this opportunity. Seymour outlined just how airtight the process was — and acknowledged that Davis was instrumental in helping him through it.
“All of the references that you had on your sheet, they called them and had four or five-hour conversations,” Seymour said on The Pivot Podcast. It caused host Louis Riddick’s eyes to widen.
“I had many conversations with Roger Goodell. Robert Kraft really helped me navigate this. But I’ll also say this, to Mark Davis, he was the one that really opened up the opportunity,” the former DE added.
However, there’s more to the journey of an NFL athlete becoming a franchise owner. It takes years, if not decades, of working with a team to even secure a seat.
Seymour went on to mention how, when he got traded from New England to Oakland in 2009, he grew close to owner Al Davis. The players on his new team looked up to him as well, which was a cherry on top.
“I sat in a pretty unique spot of being a player that guys looked up to but also being a true fighter at the same time. They knew, even when I spoke to the coaches, that I had the pulse of the team. But the players also knew I was going to keep it real with management.”
Getting close to Al Davis opened the door for Seymour to foster a good relationship with his son, Mark. When Al passed away in 2011, Mark took majority ownership of the team. But Al had told Seymour that he had a spot reserved in the front office when his playing days were over. And Mark made sure to see that request through.
“Al Davis said, ‘Hey Richard, once you’re done playing you can come into the front office.’ But my kids were young at the time, and my wife’s an East Coast girl, so we moved back east. But I stayed in constant contact with Mark Davis.”
Seymour, however, had told Mark he didn’t just want to be in the front office. The Raiders have historically emphasized inclusion and diversity, so he wanted to become an owner and have a stake in the team. Fortunately, Mark told Seymour they could explore making that happen, and today, he holds a 0.5% ownership stake.
He’s nowhere near Brady and his business partner’s ownership stake of 10%, but it’s a great story, nonetheless. Seymour is also one of the several black minority owners in the NFL joining Magic Johnson, Venus and Serena Williams, Condoleezza Rice, and several more. However, there are no black majority owners in the NFL — a wall we hope gets broken through someday.
While Kraft is only briefly mentioned in the story, Seymour later said that he and the rest of the Kraft family were a key resource for him. He also noted that if he had stopped pushing for ownership at any point, he doesn’t think the deal would have gotten done. Sometimes in life, you have to create your own luck, and that’s exactly what Seymour did to become a minority owner of his former team.
