Tom Brady and the Las Vegas Raiders continue to be tied at the hip. By now, it’s well known that the seven-time Super Bowl champion is attempting to buy a stake of the team from owner Mark Davis. This has been the case for more than a calendar year.
Unfortunately for Tom Terrific and the Silver and Black, outside forces have prevented this from being finalized.
Other owners have concerns over Brady potentially wanting to return to the football field after he retired following the 2022 season. More recently, the NFL has warned Brady that his access as a new member of the Fox NFL broadcast crew would be limited if he did buy a minority share of the Raiders.
These are the off-field components as it relates to Brady’s relationship with the Raiders. However, there is something else to focus on. It’s rather interesting stuff.
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Las Vegas Raiders planned on Tom Brady joining team in 2023
Raiders insider Hondo Carpenter of Sports Illustrated reported recently that the Raiders’ brass had an expectation Brady would join the team back in 2023.
“I know inside the football management end, there was an expectation Tom Brady was coming [to the Raiders]. And if Tom Brady had been here with Josh McDaniels, I believe it would have ended up being a completely different situation,” Carpenter reported.
“The Raiders thought he was coming. The Raiders had every reason to think he was coming,” he continued. And no, Tom Brady did not lie to anyone. He didn’t deceive anyone. Tom Brady didn’t. Tom Brady’s failure to become a Raider had nothing to do with any type of deceit or anything on Tom Brady’s part. Things happened that I’m not going to get into because they don’t matter.”
There is certainly a lot to unpack here. Back in 2023, Brady had just retired following a brilliant 23-year career. But there was talk about him potentially heading to another team and unretiring. That included both the Raiders and San Francisco 49ers.
As for the Raiders, Josh McDaniels was also in his second season as their head coach. He had coordinated Brady-led offenses in New England for 13 seasons. Obviously, there was a connection on this front.
Ultimately, McDaniels was fired eight games into the 2023 season. Brady remains retired. Meanwhile, the Raiders find themselves in quarterback purgatory.