Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback ever to play the game. That much is non-negotiable. However, since Brady played so long, retiring, coming back, hinting at retirement, and coming back again, we don’t really know how Brady would be in the booth. The first ballot Hall of Famer has a contract in place with Fox to work in the broadcast booth after retirement, providing he stays retired.
What we don’t know about Brady is how he will translate to the microphone. Other NFL greats like Drew Brees and Tony Romo transitioned seamlessly, but we know so little about Brady outside of his football career that as a broadcaster, he is a question mark.
Now, according to sources, Brady may be wearing another hat beside the network one and the one with the facemask.
According to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Adam Schefter, Brady is in discussion with Mark Davis, the bowl-cut owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and son of legendary owner Al Davis, to be a minority owner of the club. According to ESPN:
Discussions between the two sides have been going on for weeks and could soon be reaching a resolution, yet sources say it’s still an extremely sensitive and fluid negotiation. Brady’s investment is expected to be “passive,” a source with direct knowledge of the situation says, and he would not have any operational control or authority over the club in business or football matters.
Little surprise that Brady would have no say in the day-to-day operations of the club, as Davis is a well-known authoritarian in terms of his football team. However, Davis is also widely considered one of the worst owners not named Dan Snyder. Former owner in Snyder’s case, but Davis and his front office people have missed way more often than they have hit on matters such as free agent signings and draft picks.
NFL legend Tom Brady is in deep discussions to become a limited partner of the Las Vegas Raiders, sources tell ESPN’s @SethWickersham and me, potentially his second foray into a partnership with Raiders’ owner Mark Davis on a professional sports franchise in less than two months. pic.twitter.com/pVnxqwTrGT
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 12, 2023
After moving from the Bay area to the desert, big things were expected of the Raiders. They had their franchise quarterback in Derek Carr, they drafted Alabama speedster Henry Ruggs in the first round to stretch the defenses, and they had the shiny, new billion-dollar stadium in Vegas. No, just a couple of years later, Ruggs is going to prison, Carr is out of town, and the Raiders are once again without direction or much hope. Perhaps the addition of Brady as a silent owner will help fuel renewed interest in the team.
Brady’s star power and business acumen, in a city he frequently visits, would be expected to help the club realize its financial potential in the market they’ve held since they moved from Oakland in 2020 — an ironic latest chapter for the man who helped hand the Raiders one of the most painful losses in franchise history during the Tuck Rule game.
Mark Davis has desperately been trying to build the New England Patriots of the desert since the relocation to Las Vegas. He hired former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their head coach, former Patriots’ executive Dave Ziegler as their general manager, and signed former Patriots players such as Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, Chandler Jones, Brandon Bolden, Jakobi Meyers and Phillip Dorsett. The only problem with this plan? Those players are largely journeymen and backups.
Perhaps adding Brady to the ownership group will lure more potential free agents, and the Raiders and Mark Davis can finally fulfill his father’s mantra; Just Win, Baby!
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