Last offseason, Tom Brady announced he was retiring from the NFL. That decision lasted a mere 40 days before Brady reversed course and said he was returning for one more season. This offseason, Brady again announced his retirement. And now, once again, he’s returning to the NFL…sort of.
The future Hall of Famer is having discussions with the Las Vegas Raiders on becoming a limited partner with the franchise. Brady already has a good relationship with Raiders owner Mark Davis, who also owns the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. In March, Brady shared that he had acquired an ownership stake in the Aces.
We won’t see Brady making major personnel decisions quite yet, though. ESPN reported that any deal would be a “passive” one, where Brady wouldn’t have control over team operations financially or on the field.
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At least 24 team owners would have to approve a deal with Brady for him to become a limited partner. He’s likely to find that approval, however. Though he’s certainly caused enough torment for almost every NFL franchise, he’s a recognizable name and face and having him among the owners would be beneficial.
Brady pursuing a piece of the Raiders also won’t impact his deal with FOX, which will begin in 2024. The TV network airs Sunday football games and will pay Brady $375 million over 10 seasons. That’s more than Brady earned via NFL contracts during his 23-year career — his on-field earnings were about $333 million.
Of course, should a deal with the Raiders go through, Brady likely wouldn’t be on the call for any of the team’s games. A passive stake is still ownership in a team, and it’s hard to remain neutral in a setting like that.
Either way, it’s clear that Brady isn’t done with football just yet. The only difference is he’ll now be conquering it in new avenues.