Since retiring earlier this year, Tom Brady has been keeping himself plenty busy in the football world. He’s preparing to join the FOX broadcast booth in 2024 — on a deal worth a reported $375 million — and was part of an ownership group that bought a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.
However, Brady’s ownership might be hitting a snag before it begins.
Raiders owner Mark Davis has expressed his interest in employing Brady within the organization on top of his ownership stake. Yet that goes against a new NFL rule that explicitly states employees or family members of employees cannot have any kind of ownership in the team.
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The likely bet is that Brady will find a way to contribute to the Raiders without being formally employed by the organization. But there is the possibility Davis (or Brady) could balk at the rule, and the deal could fall apart entirely.
This isn’t Brady’s first foray into a Las Vegas team. He purchased the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces in March 2023. The team won the WNBA Championship and Commissioner’s Cup in 2022.
Brady had a long and storied career on the field, primarily with the New England Patriots, before finishing his final few seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He retired with seven championships and three MVP awards.
Coincidentally, one of his most infamous moments came against the Raiders, back when they were still with Oakland. With under two minutes to go in the 2001 AFC Divisional round, the Patriots trailed the Raiders 13-10 on a snowy field. Brady was sacked and appeared to fumble the ball, which the Raiders recovered. It looked like the game was about to be over, but then the officials reviewed the play. They determined Brady’s arm was coming forward, and the play was an incomplete pass, not a fumble.
The “Tuck Rule” kept the Patriots’ season alive. They’d go on to win both the game and that season’s Super Bowl. It was the first title for Brady and set off two decades of sustained success. The Raiders, meanwhile, reached the Super Bowl the following year, falling to the Buccaneers. Since then, they’ve only made the playoffs twice, losing in the Wild Card round both times.
If Brady’s ownership stake holds firm and he can bring a little Super Bowl magic to the franchise, fans might finally be able to overlook the Tuck Rule game.