Several owners can lay claim to being the worst in the NFL.
Jerry Jones — owner of the $10 billion valued Dallas Cowboys — is certainly up there, having failed to field a legitimate Super Bowl contender since the mid 1990s despite dishing out big contracts and even bigger promises.
Jerry Jones is desperate to end a near 30-year wait for a Dallas Cowboys Super BowlGetty
David Tepper, who bought the perennially rebuilding Carolina Panthers in 2018, is also in with a shout.
Tepper has made consistently suspect hiring decisions and even worse draft selections, the most egregious of which was choosing Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud only for Young to be benched within 18 games of his pro career due to a string of diabolical performances and a difficult situation around him.
But a serious dark horse in the unenviable battle for ‘worst NFL owner’ is the Las Vegas Raiders‘ very own Mark Davis, who appears destined to lose disgruntled six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams after he requested a trade, ideally to the New York Jets or New Orleans Saints.
“Mark Davis is the worst owner in the NFL, one of the worst in all of sports. Constantly making wrong decision after wrong decision,” one fan posted on X in the wake of the bombshell Adams news.
“Team won’t be good until Mark Davis steps down,” wrote another.
Billionaire Davis has owned the Raiders since 2011 after inheriting the franchise from his father, Al.
Since then, the man single-handedly fighting for bowl cuts to be cool again has overseen a stunning period of incompetence permeating every level of the organization from football field to front office.
Davis has hired six different head coaches in the past thirteen years.
One of which, Jon Gruden, brought public shame and embarrassment to the franchise after stepping down in the middle of the season over a leaked email scandal.
Davis’ bad decisions have led to Adams requesting a tradeGetty
Pierce is the sixth head coach of Davis’ tenureGetty
The latest victim HC is former linebackers coach Antonio Pierce, who was handed the keys to a dysfunctional Raider Nation after Josh McDaniels — given a six-year deal when Las Vegas signed him in 2022 — was fired after going 3-5 to start last season.
General manager David Ziegler was also shown the exit door at the same time as McDaniels, only to be replaced by Tom Telesco — the fourth different GM of Davis’ tenure.
If the endless merry-go-round of head coaches and GMs isn’t enough to make your head spin, the continuous cycle of quarterbacks the team has burned through, yet still somehow find themselves without a legitimate starter, surely will.
Carson Palmer and Terrelle Pryor gave way to the somewhat serviceable Derek Carr before failed experiments with Aidan O’Connell and Jimmy Garoppolo ultimately led the Raiders to… Gardner Minshew.
Minshew is the latest man off the carousel of Raiders QBsGetty
A relocation, rebrand and swanky new stadium has done little to alter the Raiders’ DNA.
Las Vegas is a city built on losers and in the Raiders, ‘Sin City’ has an NFL team befitting of that golden principle.
They’ve been in the playoffs a total of 23 times in their 65 seasons and have just four wins in the postseason between October 1, 1999 and October 2, 2024 — evidence that the rot kicked in way before Davis took control.
However, under Davis’ watch the Silver and Black have an 87-125 record and last made the playoffs in 2021 when they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild-card round.
The buck stops with Davis, the one constant in all this whose indecision and spectacular knack for getting every big call wrong has led to an unceasing state of failure.
NFL agents are largely in agreement.
The Athletic recently surveyed 31 unnamed NFL agents on the best and worst franchises in the league, and it’s fair to say the Raiders didn’t come out of it too well.
They got the second-most votes (seven, behind the Panthers’ nine) for the worst-run franchise, and Davis was a significant reason why.
“The owner frequently makes significant changes,” one agent said.
“He put Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler in charge and fired them after less than two seasons. Now, the Raiders have an inexperienced coach in Antonio Pierce and a retread GM hire in Tom Telesco.
“Organizations start at the top, and Davis doesn’t provide stability.”
Crosby is one of the few positive things left of the RaidersGetty
There were hopes the Raiders had turned a corner.
Maxx Crosby continues to assert himself as one of the best edge defenders in the NFL.
Tight end Brock Bowers, drafted with the 13th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is already looking like a star-in-the-making four games into the new season.
But just like everything else with the eternally doomed Raiders, it’s one step forwards and four steps back.
After a 2-2 start, star receiver Adams has seen enough and wants out, requesting a trade that could see him reunite with Aaron Rodgers in green for one last swansong.
Adams is the latest big name Raiders receiver who promised much and delivered little, blazing a trail set by Randy Moss and Antonio Brown long before him.
Las Vegas isn’t entirely culpable for superstars Moss and Brown failing to work out, but it is responsible for Adams seeking pastures new after two-and-a-bit seasons and just as long remaining on his current deal.
If nothing else, the 31-year-old’s trade request is a damning indictment on the perpetually stagnant state of the Raiders, and a crystal clear message that the league’s premier players simply don’t view Las Vegas as a team worth spending their prime on.
The painfully low-ambition Raiders have become a laughingstock and a circus under Davis’ watch, and unfortunately it starts with the ringmaster at the top.
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