Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady struck a deal with Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis on Thursday, March 23, but not in football.
Brady “acquired an ownership interest” in Davis’ WNBA team, the Las Vegas Aces according to the team’s new release. Brady, who had been linked to the Raiders in free agency before his retirement, followed up the Aces’ announcement with his own video announcement on social media.
“I’m excited to announce that I’m going to become part of the Las Vegas Aces organization,” Brady said in his video. “It was a matter of time before I was back in the building with some of the greatest athletes in the world.”
“And I grew up with three older sisters. They were all incredible athletes in their own right. They were role models to me. It’s where my love of women’s sports began,” Brady added. “I tagged along as the annoying little brother at all of their games, and they were the best athletes in our house, and still a great inspiration to me.”
Brady’s sisters — Julie, Nancy, and Maureen — all made sports headlines before Brady ever did according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith. Maureen made All-American at Fresno State and made the U.S. Junior Olympic team before that. Nancy received a softball scholarship for California-Berkley, and Julie landed a women’s soccer scholarship for St. Mary’s College in California.
“So, I admire all the work the Aces players and staff and what the WNBA continues to do to grow the sport and to empower the future generations of female athletes that I have in my own family, and I’m ready to contribute in any way possible as a member of a such a great organization,” Brady continued. “What an honor. I can’t wait to watch these amazing, talented players bring another championship to Las Vegas.”
Brady Joins Forces With Another Winning Team
The Aces won the WNBA championship in 2022, led by leading scorer and guard Kelsey Plum. Davis, who has owned the Raiders since his father’s death in 2011, purchased the Aces in 2021.
“Since I purchased the Aces, our goal has been to win on and off the court,” Davis said in the Aces’ news release. “Tom Brady is a win not only for the Aces, and the WNBA, but for women’s professional sports as a whole.”
Brady Comeback Rumors Haven’t Died Yet
Brady retired from the Bucs and NFL on February 1 for a second-consecutive year, and he remained retired this time around so far. He came back to the Bucs on March 13 last year and played one more season amid an 8-9 season with 25 touchdowns versus nine interceptions.
Speculation raged before Brady’s second retirement that he would play elsewhere in 2023, and rumors have occasionally resurfaced since then. Brady joked about a recent rumor by Rich Eisen of the “Rich Eisen Show” with the comment that he didn’t have time with two adopted cats for his daughter. Brady also held an unofficial retirement party in March through Autograph, an NFT company he co-founded. He told the crowd there that it was time for him to focus on his children’s games as a father.
Brady has two children in Miami and another in New York.
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