Getty Tom Brady with Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys.
Back in May, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis announced that he came to an agreement for former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady to become a part-owner of the team. However, the deal has yet to be approved by the NFL and there may be an issue arising.
According to Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, the NFL is not willing to approve the deal at its current price.
“The NFL’s approval process for Tom Brady’s proposed deal to purchase a minority ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders has stalled, at least in part because of concerns by the league’s finance committee about the discounted price Raiders principal owner Mark Davis is offering Brady, according to three people familiar with the deliberations over the prospective transaction,” Maske and Jhabvala wrote in an October 5 report.
The report says that NFL owners do want Brady involved in ownership but feel that Davis may be giving the former quarterback too steep a discount.
“Davis may be giving Brady a discount of as much as approximately 70%, one of the people with knowledge of the deliberations said,” Maske and Jhabvala wrote.
The report also revealed that Davis is likely giving Brady a stake of up to 10% of the Raiders. It appears there’s motivation to get the deal done still, but Davis may need to go back to the drawing board.
According to the Post, “Barring a last-minute change, NFL team owners are not expected to ratify Brady’s deal to become a Raiders’ part-owner at their meeting scheduled for Oct. 17-18 in New York.”
Tom Brady Would Not Be Allowed to Play for Las Vegas Raiders
While the NFL and the Raiders figure out the right price point for Tom Brady, there’s another issue that could arise as explained by The Washington Post.
“Another possible issue in Brady’s purchase is related to a measure the owners ratified in July,” Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala wrote. “They voted then to prohibit team employees who are not family members of the owner from being given ownership stakes in franchises, according to the Sports Business Journal. So Brady’s purchase of an ownership stake in the Raiders would prevent him from returning to play or taking another official position within the organization.”
There’s been no indication that Brady, who retired from football a second time in February 2023, was planning on returning to the field at 46. If his desire is to keep playing, then ownership wouldn’t an option, but that would be a nonissue if Brady is truly done playing.
“Go ruin their night.”
Tom Brady gives Jimmy G and the Raiders a tip in the tunnel 😂
(via @NFL / IG)
What Value Does Tom Brady Bring the Las Vegas Raiders?
The Raiders are worth $5.77 billion, according to Sportico, making them the 10th most valuable franchise in the NFL. Giving Tom Brady around 70% off their valuation to come in as an owner is a steep discount. Why would Mark Davis want to give away part of his franchise for so cheap?
Brady is one of the biggest faces in sports and has had success everywhere he has gone. Bringing Brady to free agent meetings would be a big advantage for the Raiders. Players want to play for Brady. The Raiders have had just two winning seasons since 2002, so why not bring the greatest winner in NFL history to the team? It makes sense why Davis is giving him a discount and it will be worth watching to see if the adjusted price is something that Brady is willing to pay.