Dear Santa Clarans,
Gosh, will he or won't he? Check out the pop press for the latest speculation on why Jed York will/won't agree to take on Mark Davis and the Oakland Raiders as his tenant.
That's the way the question should be phrased, because Jed York has far more power over the Raiders - and over Santa Clara - than any of us have over him.
The rule that never changes is a very straightforward one: It's about the money, and it's never about the football.
More than a few heirs of millionaire NFL team owners have learned that the hard way, as they've inherited fat assets with bare-bones cash accounts. The children of Georgia Frontiere (St. Louis Rams) and Jack Kent Cooke (Washington Redskins) know exactly how this works. They ended up selling controlling interests in their teams so that they could pay off inheritance tax bills for tens of millions of dollars that were due in mere months after the passing of the majority owner.
A Santa Clara stadium, with Jed York as his landlord, doesn't really solve that problem for Mark Davis.
Also, the subsidy that Santa Clarans are going into debt to pay? It's up to at least $500,000,000 and will likely end up being much more than that. Other than giving the Raiders a place to play, the subsidy - as well as that sublease - benefit the 49ers far more than it will ever benefit the Raiders. Or us.
Note also that the 49ers will be making sure that any stadium they're in will be geared to market their brand - not Raiders jerseys. The sale of NFL gear is big business, and all of the profits from those bobble-headed dolls go into the pockets of the 49ers (and not to a single Santa Clara agency). It doesn't pay Jed York to have any brand-dilution going on in a stadium he controls.
Silly fan emotionalism doesn't mean a thing in any discussion of the Raiders' future (It certainly doesn't in any discussion of our futures). When millionaire NFL team owners do that thing that they do, it may be an accidental sop to one fan constituency or another - but that is never the priority for the millionaire NFL team owners who are really calling the shots.
That's the way the question should be phrased, because Jed York has far more power over the Raiders - and over Santa Clara - than any of us have over him.
The rule that never changes is a very straightforward one: It's about the money, and it's never about the football.
More than a few heirs of millionaire NFL team owners have learned that the hard way, as they've inherited fat assets with bare-bones cash accounts. The children of Georgia Frontiere (St. Louis Rams) and Jack Kent Cooke (Washington Redskins) know exactly how this works. They ended up selling controlling interests in their teams so that they could pay off inheritance tax bills for tens of millions of dollars that were due in mere months after the passing of the majority owner.
A Santa Clara stadium, with Jed York as his landlord, doesn't really solve that problem for Mark Davis.
Also, the subsidy that Santa Clarans are going into debt to pay? It's up to at least $500,000,000 and will likely end up being much more than that. Other than giving the Raiders a place to play, the subsidy - as well as that sublease - benefit the 49ers far more than it will ever benefit the Raiders. Or us.
Note also that the 49ers will be making sure that any stadium they're in will be geared to market their brand - not Raiders jerseys. The sale of NFL gear is big business, and all of the profits from those bobble-headed dolls go into the pockets of the 49ers (and not to a single Santa Clara agency). It doesn't pay Jed York to have any brand-dilution going on in a stadium he controls.
Silly fan emotionalism doesn't mean a thing in any discussion of the Raiders' future (It certainly doesn't in any discussion of our futures). When millionaire NFL team owners do that thing that they do, it may be an accidental sop to one fan constituency or another - but that is never the priority for the millionaire NFL team owners who are really calling the shots.
It's about the money. Always is.
Thank you for all of your support,
Thank you for all of your support,
Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
Santa Clara Plays Fair.org
-=0=-
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