New England Patriots - NESN.com
Inquiring minds want to know, and now we have the answer to this burning question: Why didn’t Tom Brady sign with the Las Vegas Raiders after leaving the New England Patriots in 2020?
Brady, now a minority owner of the Raiders, left Foxborough, Mass. after 20 seasons and six Super Bowl titles. He signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and immediately won ring No. 7. But Raiders owner Mark Davis still has sour grapes about missing out on the G.O.A.T.
In an interview published the Raiders and aggregated by Pro Football Talk, Davis admitted he got talked out of signing Brady by general manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden.
“He was supposed to be here in 2020,” Davis said, according to Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith. “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,” Davis concluded.
Brady joined forces with the Raiders in 2023, with the NFL signing off on the agreement one year later. By then, the five-time Super Bowl MVP had already agreed to his record-setting 10-year, $375 million contract with FOX Sports.
When approving the sale, the league decided Brady would not have access to team meetings of franchises other than the Raiders, limiting resources usually available to broadcasters.
Earlier this year, the league reversed course when The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported Brady will be allowed to attend production meeting with teams ahead of games he is broadcasting for FOX Sports.
“Brady’s play-by-play partner, Kevin Burkhardt, and other crew members would inform Brady of what was said in the meetings,” Marchand wrote. “The sessions, with coaches and players, can reveal nuggets that can be used during the broadcast. They take place over Zoom and/or in person.
“Brady is still expected to be barred from team practices, as he was last year,” Marchand added.
The three-time NFL MVP will be back in the broadcast booth Sunday to call the Week 1 game between the New York Giants and Washington Commanders.
Brady, 48, visited his former stomping ground last month, returning to Gillette Stadium for the unveiling of his 12-foot statue before the Patriots’ preseason game against the Washington Commanders.
