Al Davis vs the NFL: What happened between Al Davis and Pete Rozelle?

In a way, the Al Davis Pete Rozelle rivalry has helped set up the NFL we know today. The rivalry took place years ago before the NFL was the billion-dollar league people religiously follow. ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary, special called "Al Davis vs the NFL," shed light on this feud. 

Al Davis vs the NFL: What happened between Al Davis and Pete Rozelle?

In 1960, a 33-year-old Pete Rozelle was named the NFL commissioner. Davis, who was a coach at Adelphi, went to speak with Rozelle after 1966, wanting to merge the NFL and AFL. Davis had become the AFL commissioner on April 8, 1966. In June, a merger was finalised. 

While the drama had just not begun yet, Davis was said to be unhappy with Rozelle getting most credit for the merger. By then, he had resigned as AFL's commissioner and was back with the Raiders. In 1976, Rozelle was one among those testifying in the George Atkinson slander case. As per reports, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll had referred to Atkinson's play as a "criminal element" in the NFL. 

Get ready Raider Nation 🍿

Al Davis vs. The NFL premieres on February 4th. pic.twitter.com/iw4IBMIxnq

— 30 for 30 (@30for30) January 10, 2021

Later, Rozelle removed Davis from the NFL's competition committee. In 1980, Davis signed an agreement, which was to move the Raiders to LA, which would require the Rams to leave the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The move was blocked and Davis filed a lawsuit against the NFL. 

When a retrial was scheduled after the first hung jury session, Davis won the right to move to LA. The jury had decided that NFL did violate antitrust laws. 

"We're fighting for a principle," Rozelle had said at the time. "We don't think the antitrust laws were intended to let a team just get up and move after 12 straight years of sellouts and to set up a situation where every team can conduct an auction for its franchise when its lease is up". 

In 1989, Rozelle announced his retirement when he was 63, stating that his lengthy feud with Davis was definitely a contributor. "We were fierce competitors but there was always admiration and even a little bit of love and emotion," Davis said on the day Rozzelle's retirement was announced. 

Rozelle passed away at the age of 70 on December 6, 1996. Davis passed away at the age of 82 on October 8, 2011. While their fight stretched on for years and even later, the feud is the reason why several stadiums exist today. 

Al Davis net worth

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Davis was worth $500 million. 

(Image credits: AP)