NFL owner’s WNBA interest sign of good investment

Mark Davis put his money where his mouth was when it came to the WNBA.

After spending the last few years telling Las Vegas Aces executives what they really ought to be doing with their franchise – paying the players more, for starters – the Raiders owner has bought the team. His purchase of the Aces from MGM Resorts was approved by the WNBA’s board of governors Friday.

“I’m just excited as hell to get into the future,” Davis told USA TODAY Sports. “I believe women today are going to be the driving force throughout not only sports, but the economy and everything else. I just think it’s time for women. And I’m proud to help, any way I can.”

Davis is hardly the first NFL owner with multiple teams. Stan Kroenke owns the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids and, much to the ire of English soccer fans, Arsenal. Clark Hunt owns the Kansas City Chiefs and FC Dallas.

But Davis’ decision to purchase a WNBA team is the latest indication of the growth potential of women’s sports.

When Atlanta Dream co- owner Kelly Loeffler became irredeemably toxic to the league, LeBron James was among the deep- pocketed celebrities who expressed interest in buying the WNBA team. Naomi Osaka ( North Carolina Courage) and Serena Williams ( Angel City) recently purchased stakes in NWSL franchises, as did Patrick Mahomes’ fiancée, Brittany Matthews.

In a year when almost every sport had steep declines in ratings, both the

NWSL and WNBA saw theirs rise significantly. And the NWSL was able to add three new national sponsors in the midst of the COVID- 19 pandemic.

“Anything I can do to grow the game and grow the respect for women in the world of sports, I’m happy to do it,” Davis said. “It comes down to economics, where the disrespect is,” he added, mentioning the challenge of maintaining the public’s interest in years without an Olympics or World Cup to put women’s sports front and center.

“The business model of the WNBA – they’re still alive, so you can’t knock the business model all the way. But at the same time, there’s not a lot of profit being made and salaries aren’t rising. That might be what we can do in next 25 years. Hopefully sooner.”

This is not some lark for Davis. Or a way to make it seem as if his Las Vegas Raiders – and the NFL by extension – “care” about women. His interest in women’s basketball is deep- rooted, going back to his father, Al Davis.

The elder Davis knew women’s basketball “like he knew football,” his son said, which is to say a lot. He knew and followed the top teams and coaches – Geno Auriemma was a favorite – and that interest rubbed off on his son.

“It’s a more technical game that the women play,” Mark Davis said. “They have to utilize all the skills of basketball because they’re not dunking. The NBA has become a 3- point game. Half the teams don’t even use centers anymore. That’s the allure to me, it’s back to the old- school strategy.”

The Raiders returned to Oakland from Los Angeles before the WNBA began in 1996, and the league has never had a team in the Bay Area. ( The rival American Basketball League had a team in San Jose, but the league folded midway through its third season.)

When MGM Resorts purchased the WNBA’s San Antonio franchise and moved it to Las Vegas before the 2018 season, Davis became an immediate supporter. Though the Raiders would not move to Las Vegas until after the 2019 NFL season, he purchased Aces season tickets – courtside, no less – and made as many games as he could.

Davis’ seats were next to Bill Hornbuckle, president of MGM Resorts, and Davis admits he wasn’t shy about offering his thoughts on how to improve the Aces. Finally, Hornbuckle suggested that if Davis was so interested, he should buy the team. Details of the sale were being worked out when the pandemic hit. While the WNBA’s decision to play the 2020 season at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, meant there was less immediate need to get the sale done, negotiations continued.

After the season ended – the Aces lost to Seattle in the WNBA Finals – Davis reached out to A’ja Wilson, the reigning MVP and Las Vegas’ cornerstone. She met him in Los Angeles and Davis said he outlined his vision for the team to her. “( I wanted) to find out if she’d accept me as the franchise leader,” Davis said. “She gave me the seal of approval, and that meant everything to me.”

Much like when he inherited the Raiders, Davis plans to take time to observe the current management and coaches before making changes. Eventually, he would like to see the Aces leadership reflect the team’s diversity.

“One of the free agents, who I was helping recruit, asked about mentorship ( opportunities). I told her, ‘ Absolutely, that’s what we’re all in for,’ ” Davis said. “The synergy on Raiders Way is going to be a hotbed for change.”

For the Aces and, hopefully, all of women’s sports.