Mark Davis's Raiders went from 31/32 NFL Teams to the 6th most valuable team

The Raiders are boasting that their move to Vegas boost the Raiders value.  The team has seen its value skyrocket to $3.1 billion this year, up from $1.4 billion in 2015 when it ranked 31st out of 32 NFL teams. Before moving to Las Vegas, the team was worth $1.4 billion in 2015 but the Raiders have seen its value steadily increase year-over-year since announcing their move to Las Vegas.  That made them the poorest NFL team in the league. 

In 2019, Forbes magazine ranked the Raiders value at $2.9 billion, making the Raiders the 26th most valuable team in the World. In September 2020, Forbes reported their value had eclipsed the $3 billion mark making them more valuable than Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, Manchester City and the Chelsea Soccer Club.

How Did Allegiant Stadium Boost the Raiders Value $2 Billion?

Only about 200 fans showed up to the first NFL Game in Las Vegas. Most of the fans who attended the Raiders inaugural game were reporters or fans from California.

Michael Ozanian, Forbes executive editor who created the publication’s sports team valuation lists, said "The construction of the $2 billion Allegiant Stadium, the sellout of personal seat license and season tickets at the 65,000-seat venue and the naming rights deals tied to the stadium are responsible for the continued rise in valuation."

The reason Michael is optimistic about the Raiders is because the Raiders ticket sales have out placed the Los Angeles Rams who just purchased a $4 billion stadium. What Michael does not understand is the reason the Las Vegas Raiders PSL sales have outpaced about Las Vegas is ticket agencies. Scalpers who live in Vegas will make a show sell out overnight.  The scalper's hope is the same as Michael's: they hope Raiders national brand will Raiders fans to Las Vegas. But according to J.A. Tiberti who sits on the Las Vegas Stadium Board Authority, over 60% of the PSL sales came from Nevada and 40% came from California. Since Nevada does not have a strong Raider Nation fan base, I asked myself "how did Nevada purchase over 1/2 the PSL's". The answer was simple: scalpers buying pop all the tickets hoping to make a profit on the resell. 

Scalper's Plan Thwarted