The biggest talking point for Mark Davis during the announcement that his Raiders are leaving Oakland for Las Vegas was his desire to maintain as civil a relationship with fans in Oakland as possible.
Good luck with that, and all, but it’s a necessary move considering the Raiders expect to play in Oakland for at least two more years. A third season (2019) in Oakland is also a possibility depending on what happens with the O.co lease and what happens with the UNLV stadium situation.
Davis offered an unusual response when asked if he would refund Oakland season ticket holders, saying he would be “happy” (before clarifying he wouldn’t actually be thrilled about it) to refund Raiders fans if they felt they didn’t want to keep their season tickets.
It would be surprising if there were a lot of Raiders fans who wanted to bail on the team. There are still two -- and maybe three -- years left of the Oakland Raiders, who will continue to be called just that as long as they’re in Oakland, according to Roger Goodell.
And the 2017 Raiders should be good. A season after winning 12 games and reaching the playoffs, Oakland returns some critical components in Derek Carr, Amari Cooper and Khalil Mack.
On the other hand, there’s a whole lot of people who will feel upset by this decision of the Raiders to move, and if they have the opportunity to get money back from a team that won’t be staying in their city, they could ultimately decide to take that refund.
It was an admirable move by Davis but one he might ultimately regret.
