Will Estate Taxes Force Al Davis' Family to Sell The Oakland Raiders?
October 17, 2011
Al Davis, the long-time principal owner and general manager of the Oakland Raiders, passed away this weekend at age 82. As this article on Forbes points out, estate taxes are a huge concern for NFL football owners, including the Davis family. Those taxes led to the sale of the St. Louis Rams in 2008 and the Miami Dolphins in the mid-90′s.
For those who pass away this year, the tax tops out at 35% for those with the highest level of assets, like Davis. Too bad the Davis family wasn’t as lucky as the Steinbrenner family, which avoided the taxes altogether, since 2010 was the one year there were no estate taxes.
The day after Davis passed away, NBC Sports already reported from “a source with knowledge of the situation” that Davis used thorough estate and succession planning to protect his beloved Oakland Raiders from leaving the family. Reportedly, his widow, Carol, and his son, Mark Davis, will take over control of the team. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote a similar report Saturday night, quoting team chief executive, Amy Trask.
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