TheLas Vegas Raiders are a professionalAmerican football team based in theLas Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in theNational Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league'sAmerican Football Conference (AFC)West division. The Raiders were founded inOakland, California, in 1960 as a charter member of theAmerican Football League. The franchise moved toLos Angeles in 1982 before moving back to Oakland in 1995 where they played until their move to Las Vegas in 2020. The Raiders won the1967 AFL championship before joining the NFL as part of theAFL–NFL merger and have since won threeSuper Bowls in1976,1980, and1983.
The Raiders began as one of the eight charter members of theAmerican Football League (AFL) in 1960. It was in 1964 when the team first played in Las Vegas. On August 24, 1964, the team played theHouston Oilers in the first ever professional football game ever played in Las Vegas. The game was a preseason game at the originalCashman Field and was organized by Raiders general managerAl Davis andWilbur Clark of theDesert Inn as a charity game to benefit 'Wilbur Clark's Cavalcade of Charities.' The game would be the beginning of a long relationship between the Davis family and Las Vegas. The Raiders won the game 53 to 49.[1] The team became a part of theNational Football League in 1970 as part of theAFL–NFL merger and have remained a member of the NFL ever since. They were part of the AFL's Western Division for their first ten years and became part of theAmerican Football Conference upon their joining the NFL. During the team's first stint in Oakland it wonSuper Bowl XI andSuper Bowl XV.
In 1980 Al Davis attempted unsuccessfully to have improvements made to theOakland–Alameda County Coliseum, specifically the addition ofluxury boxes. That year, he signed amemorandum of agreement to move the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles. The move, which required three-fourths approval by league owners, was defeated 22–0 (with five owners abstaining). When Davis tried to move the team anyway, he was blocked by aninjunction. In response, the Raiders not only became an active partner in anantitrust lawsuit filed by theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum (who had recently lost theLos Angeles Rams toAnaheim), but filed an antitrust lawsuit of their own.[2] After the first case was declared amistrial, in May 1982, a second jury found in favor of Davis and the Los Angeles Coliseum, clearing the way for the move.[3][4][5] With the ruling, the Raiders would relocate to Los Angeles for the1982 season to play their home games at the Memorial Coliseum. The team wonSuper Bowl XVIII while in Los Angeles becoming the first team to deliver a Super Bowl to Los Angeles.
In1995, the Raiders returned to Oakland after the city andAlameda County agreed to build the luxury and club seats on to the Oakland Coliseum with a structure that would become known asMount Davis.[6][7][8] Davis chose to return the Raiders to Oakland after the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission failed to deliver on promised renovations to build luxury suites (the Coliseum would not have luxury suites until a 2019 renovation) and after he was unable to secure a new stadium in the Los Angeles area. The team appeared inSuper Bowl XXXVII during its second stint in Oakland but lost to theTampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Davis family had been in search of a new stadium for the team since the late 1980s. Al Davis died on October 8, 2011, leaving his sonMark Davis with the task of finding a new stadium for the team.[9] The Davis family had maintained a connection to Las Vegas going back to the game the Raiders played there in 1964. Al Davis often visited Las Vegas and sometimes considered moving the Raiders to the city.[10] Davis spent many long weekends in the area staying atCaesars Palace, or at theRiviera and would take members of the team including coaches and former CEOAmy Trask on trips to Las Vegas.[11][10] Mark Davis purchased LasVegasRaiders.com in 1998 and renewed thedomain registration each year.[10] The team started exploring moving to Las Vegas in 2015.[12] After over 10 years of failure to secure a new stadium in Oakland or in the surrounding area to replace the decaying coliseum (issues of which include sewage backups and flooding[13]) and after missing out on Los Angeles to theLos Angeles Rams andLos Angeles Chargers, on March 27, 2017, the NFL granted the team permission torelocate to Las Vegas.[14] Ground was officially broken on the new stadium on November 13, 2017.[15]
On January 22, 2020, after three lame duck seasons in Oakland, the team officially was declared the "Las Vegas Raiders" in a ceremony at the under-constructionAllegiant Stadium.[16]
On September 13, the team won their first game as the Las Vegas Raiders 34–30 over theCarolina Panthers.[17] On September 21, the team won its first home game in Las Vegas defeating theNew Orleans Saints 34–24.[18] The Raiders ultimately finished 8–8 in their first season in Las Vegas, missing out on the playoffs after losing to theMiami Dolphins in week 16.[19] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the Raiders did not allow fans into the stadium for games.[20]
Las Vegas started the 2021 campaign 3–0 as fans were allowed at games once again. On October 11, head coachJon Gruden, who was just over three years into his second stint with the team, resigned due to the publication of homophobic, misogynistic, and racist emails that he sent prior to becoming the Raiders head coach.[21] Special teams coachRich Bisaccia was named the interim coach.[22] Despite several incidents off the field that resulted in the arrests or terminations of players such asHenry Ruggs,Damon Arnette, andNate Hobbs, the Raiders overcame a midseason slump and managed to make the postseason for the first time since 2016, beating theLos Angeles Chargersin the final seconds of overtime during a week 18 game. The Raiders made it into the playoffs with a record of 10–7 in the 2021 season. They lost to the eventual AFC championCincinnati Bengals inPaul Brown Stadium with a score of 26–19.[23]
The Raiders hiredJosh McDaniels as the Raiders next head coach on January 31, 2022. The 2022 season would be a disaster as the Raiders would finish with a 6–11 record. Throughout the season, the Raiders had suffered several blown leads, which included giving up leads by at least 17 points in three games. Nine of their 11 losses were all within one-possession. They became the first team in NFL history to lose five or more times in a season while leading by double-digits in the second half. This would also be the final season ofDerek Carr as quarterback before getting traded to theNew Orleans Saints the next season.
The 2023 season would go moderately well, but on October 31, 2023, after their week 8 loss to theDetroit Lions and a 3–5 start, the Raiders fired head coachJosh McDaniels and general managerDave Ziegler. The Raiders hired interim head coachAntonio Pierce and interim general managerChamp Kelly. Two highlights occurred during Pierce's tenure is when the Raiders set a franchise record for most points scored in a game of 63 points in week 15 against theLos Angeles Chargers. The Raiders won the game 63–21. Another highlight is where the Raiders upset the defending and eventual Super Bowl championsKansas City Chiefs 20–14 onChristmas Day. The Raiders improved on their record from last season, but they would miss the playoffs after their loss in week 17 to theIndianapolis Colts. They would later finish with an 8–9 record, good enough to finish at 2nd place in theAFC West.
On January 19, 2024, the Raiders announced thatAntonio Pierce would be the team's next head coach.
However, the 2024 season would be Pierce's only full season as head coach after posing a 4–13 record that season. After starting 2–2 that season, the Raiders suffered a disastrous 10-game losing streak until the streak ended with a win over theJacksonville Jaguars in Week 17. On January 7, 2025, the Raiders firedAntonio Pierce after his only full season with the Raiders.