Before Tom Brady agreed to buy an ownership stake in the las Vegas Raiders this summer, rumors flew that he could sign a contract to become the Raiders’ starting quarterback in 2023. Now, NFL owners and league rules could prevent that from ever becoming a possibility.
Before Brady retired for the second time, many believed the seven-time Super Bowl champion would sign with Las Vegas. The Raiders wanted to bring in a quarterback who knew Josh McDaniels’ offense and Brady would provide the leadership, experience and consistency the team needed to improve this year.
- Tom Brady career stats: 251-83 record, 89,214 passing yards, 649 passing touchdowns, 97.2 QB rating, 64.3 percent completion rate, 58 game-winning drives
Instead, Brady retired and turn his attention to a post-playing career. He first purchased an ownership stake in the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces from Mark Davis. Shortly after, he agreed to a deal to buy a small stake in the Raiders from Davis.
While the two dies have agreed to a deal, NFL rules require all purchases of ownership shares to be approved by the league. It means an extended vetting process must be conducted to evaluate Brady’s financial records and the specifics of the deal he made with Davis.
While that would seemingly provide him with a window to temporarily back out of the deal if the Raiders need a starting quarterback, team owners could reportedly be prepared to stop a comeback from happening.
NFL sources who spoke to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal suggested owners could block Brady’s purchase of a minority stake in the Raiders if he refuses to be “fully retired” from playing football.
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Brady needs 24-of-32 owners to approve his purchase of a minority stake in the team. Even if the deal is cleared by the NFL’s finance experts, owners could still inform him that a deal will only be approved if he stays permanently retired.
- Tom Brady career earnings: $332.962 million
Putting that stipulation in place would prevent another scenario. NFL rules currently prevent any active player from having an ownership stake in a team. If Brady’s original agreement was approved, any comeback attempt would require 24-of-32 voters to approve it and that’s seen as highly unlikely.
Despite the persistent rumors that Brady could be convinced to make a second NFL comeback, his imminent purchase of a stake in the Raiders’ franchise effectively prevents it. So, if Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t healthy by training camp, Brady will either have to choose between owning an NFL team or playing football.