Seth Wickersham and Adam Schefter4 Minute Reading
How serious is the talk about Tom Brady coming out of retirement?
Dianna Russini and Domonique Foxworth react to Tom Brady responding to questions about his retirement.
NFL legend Tom Brady is in deep discussions to become a limited partner of Las Vegas Raiders, sources told ESPN — potentially his second foray into partnering with Raiders owner Mark Davis at a professional sports franchise in less than two months.
Discussions between the two sides have been ongoing for several weeks and a resolution may be close, but sources say it is a very sensitive and fluid negotiation. Brady’s investment is expected to be “passive,” said a source with direct knowledge of the situation, and he will not have any operational control or authority over the business or football club.
The NFL declined comment. A Raiders spokesman did not return calls or texts. Brady’s agent, Don Yee, declined comment.
In late March, Brady announced that he had purchased a stake in the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, a team that Davis also primarily owns.
Even if Brady and Davis could agree on terms, at least 24 current team owners would have to review and approve Brady’s limited partnership, as is the case with all minority and majority owners.
Brady’s star power and business acumen, in a city he frequents, is expected to help the club realize its financial potential in the market they’ve held since moving from Oakland in 2020 — an ironic latest chapter for the man who helped hand the Raiders one of the worst losses in franchise history during the “Tuck Rule” game.
It is believed that Brady’s 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox, which begins in 2024, will not be affected by the investment in the Raiders. A source told ESPN that Fox “blessed” the arrangement. Sources said the league’s policy on team ownership overlaying media work only works if the owner holds a position of authority at the media company and could affect those broadcast rights negotiations. Fox and the NFL agreed to an 11-year rights deal through 2021.
This isn’t the first time the seven-time Super Bowl champion has shown interest in owning a minority stake in an NFL franchise. In 2021 and 2022, Brady reportedly talked to the Miami Dolphins about becoming a limited partner. A six-month investigation by the NFL found that Dolphins team owner Stephen Ross and vice chairman/limited partner Bruce Beal — a friend of Brady’s — violated the anti-interference policy -talked to Brady, and the team was stripped of its first-round draft pick last month, among other disciplinary measures.
Brady retired at age 45 after the 2022 season, his 23rd in the NFL, and said this time he was done playing “for good.” Although Brady came out of 41-day retirement after the 2021 season to play one final year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he is not expected to try to play for the Raiders. Even if he wanted to, the owners had to approve of his dual role.
In recent years, the Raiders have tried to replicate some of the success Brady helped inspire in New England, bringing in former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their head coach, former Patriots’ executive Dave Ziegler as their general manager, and former Patriots players such as Jimmy Garoppolo, Brian Hoyer, Chandler Jones, Brandon Bolden, Jakobi Meyers and Phillip Dorsett.
But no one will attract the attention that Brady might, as he would become the highest-profile former NFL player to become a limited owner of an NFL franchise.
