Tom Brady ‘was supposed’ to play for the Raiders

Patriots

“The head coach and general manager decided they wanted to go in a different direction.”

After walking away from the Patriots as a free agent in March 2020, Tom Brady shocked the world by joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, multiple other teams heavily pursued the legendary quarterback (unsurprisingly), including the Las Vegas Raiders.

Raiders principal owner Mark Davis confirmed in a recent interview that his organization nearly landed Brady, a then-six-time Super Bowl-winning QB with New England.

“He was supposed to be here in 2020,” Davis said in a video shared by the Raiders. “That’s when our relationship started, was in 2020 when he was a free agent and we talked to him about coming here to play quarterback. Obviously, it was a tough decision, he was close to coming here, but the head coach and general manager decided they wanted to go in a different direction.

“So, we didn’t sign him, but as I got to know him through that process, I let his agent know that when he was done playing, I would like him to be a part of our organization.”

Indeed, Brady became a minority owner of the Raiders in May 2023, three months after retiring from playing in the NFL for the final time.

Rumors have swirled for years regarding Brady nearly playing for Las Vegas. UFC CEO and president Dana White said in 2022 that the Raiders had a plan for both Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski to land in Las Vegas, but then-head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock “blew it up”.

Four years ago, Brady famously called out an anonymous NFL team for choosing “that mother [expletive]” to play quarterback over himself in 2020. Brady has yet to confirm who that other quarterback was. But, now, signs point to then-Raiders QB Derek Carr being the answer.

“One of the teams, and they weren’t interested at the very end, I was thinking, ‘You’re sticking with that mother [expletive]?’” Brady said on an episode of HBO’s “The Shop” in 2021. “When I look back, I’m like, there’s no [expletive] way I would’ve went to that team. But they said they didn’t want me. I know what that means, I know what that feels like. And I am gonna go [expletive] you up because of that.”

One half-decade later, Brady appears to feel much differently about the Las Vegas organization. He owns a 10 percent stake in the football team while simultaneously being FOX’s top NFL color commentator.

Last year, Brady had several restrictions placed on him by the NFL because of conflicts of interest as a partial Raiders owner. He wasn’t allowed to attend broadcast production meetings or access other teams’ facilities, players, or coaches as a FOX employee.

However, ahead of the 2025 season, the NFL amended its “Brady rules,” according to The New York Times‘ Andrew Marchand. Brady is now permitted to attend production meetings either in person or virtually alongside his FOX colleagues. However, he still isn’t allowed to visit the home team’s practice facility for the respective game he’s broadcasting.

Nevertheless, Davis seems to have unwavering trust in Brady as a part-owner of the team.

“[I’m] really, really happy to have him as part of this organization,” Davis said. “There’s nobody more competitive. He’s really, really a bright person. A great person to know. Really selfless, when you think about it. He’s just great. It’s awesome to have somebody like that in the organization.”

Kaley Brown

Sports producer

Kaley Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.