57. Mark Davis, Owner, Oakland Raiders
It was never Mark Davis’ intention to own the Oakland Raiders. That was his dad’s job, and Al Davis was supposed to own the Raiders forever. But when Al Davis died in 2011, the team fell to his son, who had never been groomed to own the team, never put into the ownership pipeline (like Stephen Jones in Dallas or Art Rooney II in Pittsburgh). His first three full seasons haven’t included a return to the glory days—the Raiders are 11-25 since 2012; only Jacksonville (9-27) has been worse—and now he has another headache aside from turning around one of the league’s most storied franchises: Ha has to find a long-term home for the Raiders. Give the 59-year-old Davis credit. He is investigating everything. He is saying all the right things about giving Oakland a chance to keep the team, but there is no way the city will be able to make a competitive stadium bid, and the team can’t stay in dingy old O.co Coliseum. He has investigated San Antonio, and made a tentative deal (with about five very large asterisks denoting “league approval needed”) to share a Los Angeles stadium with the rival Chargers. And, though he doesn’t want to think about it yet, he may end up in talks with St. Louis if the Rams and Chargers end up being the combo platter to share Los Angeles. The L.A. story is going to be the story of the next 12 months. It may not be resolved by the time the Super Bowl rolls around, but there’s little doubt the stage will be set for whatever is going to happen by next winter. Al Davis made a living pitting his franchise against the NFL, perpetually competing for a better deal in some ignominious spots around Los Angeles that never panned out. Though Mark Davis doesn’t have his father’s pedigree, at some point over the next few months he’s going to have to ask himself: WWAD? (What Would Al Do?) He has two big jobs this year: Get the Raiders out of a 12-year slump on the field, and make sure they have a decent option when the music stops in franchise musical chairs, sometime in the next year.
—Peter King (@SI_PeterKing)