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NFL

Source: Raiders exit in doubt as firm mulls deal

The Oakland Raiders’ bid to relocate to Las Vegas has hit another financial roadblock that could put the team’s planned move to the desert in jeopardy, a source told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

With billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson angrily withdrawing from the Raiders’ stadium deal on Monday, investment bank Goldman Sachs is also re-evaluating its relationship with the planned deal, a source close to the negotiations told Shelburne.

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

  • The Raiders are looking to increase their stake of the $1.9 billion Las Vegas stadium proposal to $1.15 billion, which would also include accepting full operating responsibilities and risk.

Adelson, the chief executive of Las Vegas Sands Corp., declared that he had been shut out of talks that led to the lease document presented to the Clark County Stadium Authority.

“We were not only excluded from the proposed agreement,” Adelson said, “we weren’t even aware of its existence.”

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. On Jan. 12, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Raiders had told the NFL that it had assurance from Goldman Sachs that the financial firm would continue to back the team’s relocation effort even if Adelson was out of the picture.

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, a source told Shelburne.

The Raiders promised to make good on owner Mark Davis’ vow to move to Las Vegas in a statement released Monday. AP Photo/John Locher

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. In that situation, the investment firm would be on board only if a large return on investment was likely.

“If [Adelson] doesn’t think it will pencil out for him, it won’t pencil out for Goldman Sachs or anybody else that thinks they want to step up to it,” Clark County commissioner Chris Giunchigliani told the San Jose Mercury News. “I hate to say it, some of my concerns are starting to bear out. I don’t think Mr. Davis cared about either community, ours or Oakland. He’s using us against each other.”

The Raiders had intended to pick up the tab for Adelson’s pulled $650 million, which would up their total commitment to $1.15 billion for a deal in which they would also accept operation responsibilities and risk.

The Las Vegas project includes a domed stadium to be built at a site yet to be decided, probably just off the Las Vegas Strip. It would seat 65,000.

In a statement, the Raiders acknowledged Adelson’s involvement in the project over the past year and promised to make good on Davis’ vow to move to Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal, which is owned by the Adelson family, reported Davis had been in Adelson’s office “negotiating with the family” even as Raiders president Marc Badain and executive vice president Dan Ventrelle were making a presentation to the authority board on the proposed lease agreement on Thursday.

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.

Information from ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez and Ramona Shelburne, and The Associated Press was used in this report.

NFL

Brady gets emotional while talking about father

HOUSTON — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was overtaken with emotion on Monday at Super Bowl LI Opening Night, choking up when asked by a 7-year-old reporter which person is his hero.

  • Robert Kraft believes Deflategate, which started two years ago and ultimately led to Tom Brady being suspended the first four games of this season, “galvanized” the Patriots.

“That’s a great question. I think my dad is my hero, because he’s someone I look up to every day,” Brady said, before there a noticeable pause.

Brady then looked down and adjusted the microphone with his right hand. His eyes welled up before he made eye contact with the 7-year-old and simply said, “My dad.”

Brady nodded his head and gave a thumbs-up to the questioner, Joseph Duarte, who was on hand at after winning a “Kid Reporter” contest.

Shortly thereafter, Brady was asked if critical remarks about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made by his father, Tom Brady Sr., represented his own feelings. He again became emotional.

“Well, I’d say my dad represents his feelings, because he’s a dad, and I’m a dad and … ,” Brady said as his voice trailed off.

That was followed by another noticeable pause as Brady, who hardly ever shows emotion when answering questions from reporters, collected himself. He later said that he hoped his father would be in attendance for Super Bowl LI, before reflecting on his father’s influence in his life.

“He was just a great example for me, and he was always someone who supported me in everything I did, to come home at night and bring me out, hit me ground balls and fly balls. I loved baseball growing up,” Brady said. “And to have a chance to go to 49er games on the weekend with him and my mom, and throw the ball in the parking lot before the games; those are memories that I’ll have forever.”

NFL

Raiders' Vegas stadium plan loses casino mogul

LAS VEGAS — Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson pulled out of a deal Monday to build a $1.9 billion domed stadium for the Oakland Raiders in Las Vegas.

The move comes on the heels of a team proposal to pay $1 a year in rent and operate the stadium, and it deprives the project of a chief financial backer as officials seek to bring professional football to Las Vegas for the first time.

Adelson played an instrumental role in the effort to lure the Raiders, which eventually grew into a $750 million commitment of taxpayer money to the deal.

He and his family had pledged $650 million — an amount the team will have to seek from other sources. The Raiders have promised $500 million.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s office said the lease agreement submitted last week would have the Raiders shoulder $1.15 billion of the cost of the stadium, and accept operation responsibilities and risk.

In a statement, the Raiders acknowledged Adelson’s involvement in the project over the past year and promised to make good on owner Mark Davis’ vow to move to Las Vegas.

A lease proposal submitted by the Raiders would have them operate the 65,000-seat stadium that would be built at a site yet to be decided, probably just off the Las Vegas Strip. AP Photo/John Locher

Adelson’s withdrawal means the Raiders will go forward with a decision pending from NFL owners who must approve the move.

It also means the team won’t have to ask team owners to waive a rule prohibiting casino operators from having ownership roles in teams.

Team officials said previously they were enlisting investment bank Goldman Sachs for the project.

The lease proposal would have the Raiders operate the 65,000-seat stadium that would be built at a site yet to be decided, probably just off the Las Vegas Strip.

In Adelson’s terse statement, the chief executive of Las Vegas Sands Corp. declared that he had been shut out of talks that led to the lease document presented to the Clark County Stadium Authority.

“We were not only excluded from the proposed agreement,” Adelson said, “we weren’t even aware of its existence.”

Sands owns the Venetian and Palazzo resorts and a convention center on the Las Vegas Strip, and several casinos in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. Adelson is a big backer of Republican Party causes, and his family also owns the local newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“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.”

Stadium Authority Chairman Steve Hill, who also serves as Sandoval’s development chief, vowed to “continue to ensure the stadium project is developed in a manner consistent with the clear direction of Nevada lawmakers.”

The plan isn’t only to bring an NFL franchise to Nevada, but also to build a stadium for UNLV football “and enhance our state’s core tourism economy,” Hill said.

Sandoval, a Republican who called lawmakers into a special session to approve tax funding for the project, thanked the Adelson family “for their role in bringing a publicly-owned stadium to Las Vegas.”

“It is unfortunate that they were unable to come to terms with the Raiders,” the governor said.

He added that terms of the law passed to fund the public portion of the project won’t change, “and the state’s contribution will not increase as a result of this announcement.”

Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak, who has been intimately involved in the stadium and Raiders plan, characterized Adelson’s departure as “a significant setback … unless Goldman Sachs has someone lined up to step into Adelson’s place.”

“I do not know how the other owners are going to react to this,” Sisolak said.

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.

NFL

49ers' Lynch: 'Eager to earn trust' of skeptics

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — New San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said he recognizes and understands the skeptics questioning his first foray into running an NFL personnel department.

“I would say that I’m eager to earn their trust,” Lynch said. “I think the feelings that some might have there are natural.”

Lynch went on to explain how his path to the NFL and then to the doorstep of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (he’s a finalist) weren’t exactly conventional, so he is accustomed to taking a different route to football success.

“There’s a lot of things in my life that haven’t been conventional, and I appreciate that [49ers CEO] Jed [York] was willing to think outside the box. … I would say I understand that [skepticism], and I’m fully aware that myself, the team I put around me, we’re going to have to earn the respect. The only way you do that is through your actions. For us, that’s showing it on the field. We’ve got a big task in front of us, but I can’t tell you how excited I am to attack it.”

Lynch spoke to Bay Area media for about 25 minutes Monday afternoon via conference call from Houston, where he has business this week as a broadcaster for Fox Sports and as a potential Pro Football Hall of Famer.

  • Like John Lynch, Matt Millen was a former Pro Bowl defensive player who went from the broadcast booth to run the front office of a struggling team. His advice? It’s about people, not football.

  • The San Francisco 49ers are giving Hall of Fame candidate and Fox analyst John Lynch an almost unprecedented six-year deal to be their new general manager, league sources told ESPN.

  • As soon as the initial shock of a 2-14 team hiring a GM with zero experience evaluating and acquiring talent subsides, there’s plenty left to unpack.

2 Related

The Niners officially hired Lynch on Sunday evening in what came as a major surprise to the NFL world. The 49ers spoke to nine candidates for the job, publicly confirming each interview along the way. But while there was always the belief that York could expand the search beyond those nine executives, Lynch’s name didn’t surface until the moment he was hired.

According to Lynch, the process came together in the span of about two weeks after he broadcast an NFC divisional playoff game between the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks.

Following that game, Lynch said he spoke to Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, the presumptive next coach of the 49ers. As the pair talked, Lynch mentioned that he had interest in jumping into management and that he had nearly done so with the Denver Broncos a few years ago.

“If I’m going to bet on somebody, I’m going to bet on John Lynch,” Shanahan said Monday night at the Super Bowl’s “Opening Night” media event in Houston. “John has succeeded at everything. That’s what excites me about him.”

Lynch also said he had spoken to others about making the move, but after the conversation, Shanahan presented the option to York.

“That’s kind of been out there,” Lynch said. “I always said — I even said to my bosses at FOX — if the right situation arose, that it would be something that I would have to consider. Kyle and I were in a conversation; he seemed to get excited. At that point, he turned it over to Jed and [49ers VP of football operations] Paraag [Marathe], and the rest moved fairly quickly.”

It also moved quietly, a stipulation Lynch said he requested at the beginning of the process, because he didn’t want to have any undue pressure on him, his employers or his family.

“I’m incredibly appreciative and fortunate in this world that things stayed quiet; because what that did, it allowed me to truly assess the situation, to ask the tough questions, to just kind of get with the people that I’m going to be working with and any elephant in the room, just get rid of it,” Lynch said. “I didn’t need the job, so that gave me a great position to be able to just kind of be very forward, and I asked those questions.

“I wanted to be able to best evaluate this situation as it developed, and I thought it would be much easier if I didn’t have the world breathing down my throat.”

Lynch now must begin the process of building a staff that can help him adjust to his new role. He complimented 49ers assistant general manager Tom Gamble and said he’s looking forward to sitting down to “soak up” Gamble’s experience in the scouting world.

Beyond that, Lynch said he will soon start the process of “aggressively pursuing” people he has relationships with who he believes are some of the best in the business to fill out the staff.

“Outside, I don’t want to get into specifics, but I can just tell you that we’re going to be really aggressive and the response I can tell you has been really magnificent with people that really want to be here,” Lynch said.

Lynch declined to say how the Niners would divide power between himself and Shanahan. But a source told ESPN’s Jim Trotter that Lynch will have final say on the draft and the 90-man roster, while Shanahan, assuming his hire as coach, would have control of the 53-man roster.

Lynch, who will report directly to York, emphasized the importance of coming to a consensus on major football decisions.

“I can tell you that from the outset, what has been communicated to me is that we really want this to be a true partnership,” Lynch said. “Jed has communicated that, Paraag has communicated that, that’s my wish.”

Beyond that, Lynch also pointed to previous stops in his playing career, specifically in Denver, where he has spent some offseasons sitting in draft meetings with general manager John Elway and his staff, as basis for his understanding of the job.

Lynch called Elway one of his closest friends and made it clear he intends to lean on Elway for help when needed.

“One thing I told Jed over and over is that I know what I don’t know and I’m not going to profess, I can’t tell you that I’ve had 20 years in front offices working my way up, but what I do know, I know football. I put my football acumen up with most in this league. I know people, and I know how to lead.”

Information from ESPN’s Dan Graziano was used in this report.

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“If you think about it, I've never held a job in my life. I went from being an NFL player to a coach to a broadcaster. I haven't worked a day in my life.”
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