Tom Brady will test the NFL ownership waters again.
The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback “is in deep discussions to become a limited partner of the Las Vegas Raiders” according to sources via ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Adam Schefter. Brady previously looked at a limited partnership with the Miami Dolphins in 2022 before an NFL tampering violation by the franchise nixed the deal. Brady notably downplayed rumors of joining the Dolphins this offseason after his second retirement on February 1.
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.
His reported ownership stake in the Dolphins included the chance to quarterback the team, but that won’t be the case with the Raiders. Brady said he retired “for good” in a February 1 video, and “he is not expected to try to play for the Raiders” according to Wickersham and Schefter.
“Even if he wanted to, owners would have to approve his dual role,” Wickersham and Schefter wrote.
Brady previously had been tied to the Raiders in free agency in 2020 and amid comeback rumors in 2022 and 2023. Longtime teammate Rob Gronkowski talked openly in 2022 about UFC president Dana White’s attempt to get the Raiders to sign Brady and Gronkowski in 2020.
The latest attempt by the Raiders after the 2022 season didn’t come to fruition either amid Brady’s second retirement. The Raiders signed veteran quarterback and former Brady teammate Jimmy Garoppolo in March after nine seasons with Derek Carr under center.
Brady already has an ownership deal with Raiders owner Mark Davis — an “ownership interest” in the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. Brady expressed his passion for women’s sports in a video announcement on March 23 amid his new venture.
Tom Brady’s Talks With Raiders Has a Ways to Go
As for Brady’s possible partnership with the Raiders, ESPN hasn’t received official confirmation of the deal from the NFL, Raiders, and Don Yee, Brady’s agent, Wickersham and Schefter wrote. The league also requires “at least 24 current team owners” to “vet and approve” the deal, Wickersham and Schefter wrote.
“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,” Wickersham and Schefter wrote. “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.”
Tom Brady Could Have Conflict of Interest With FOX
Brady can still broadcast with FOX, which “a source told ESPN” according to Wickersham and Schefter. The seven-time Super Bowl champion has a 10-year, $375 million deal with FOX, and he said in February that he plans to begin broadcasting in 2024.
Tom Brady told Colin Cowherd that, after talking with executives at FOX last week, he does not expect to begin his broadcasting career until the fall of 2024.
“Sources said that league policy about team ownership overlapping with media employment comes into play only if the owner holds a position of authority at the media company and could impact broadcast rights negotiations,” Wickersham and Schefter wrote. “Fox and the NFL agreed to an 11-year rights deal in 2021.”
FOX primarily broadcasts NFC teams, but it does create a conflict of interest as The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch noted.
“If Brady ends up with a piece of the Raiders, I’m going to bypass everything he says about the franchise outside of game analysis. But as far as whether it will be an issue for Fox, no chance,” Deitsch wrote.
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