Tom Brady, metaphorically speaking, owned a great many teams throughout his 23-year NFL career. The long-time New England Patriots quarterback retired with a win-loss record of 251-84 for his career. He added another 35 playoff wins, more than double the 16 his next closest contemporary, Joe Montana, accrued.
And do we really need to rehash the whole seven Super Bowls thing again?
Yes, Brady owned virtually every opponent that had the misfortune of stepping in his path. In fact, per Stat Muse, he owns a winning record against every team in the league. He earned the first of those 35 playoff victories against the then-Oakland Raiders in the infamous “tuck rule” game.
It was one of six career dubs that Brady would notch against the Raiders, compared to just one loss. By those optics, it’s fair to say that Brady thoroughly owned the Raiders on the field. But just what exactly is the deal with his new-found, off-field ownership of the Raiders?
Does Tom Brady Own the Raiders?
In a word, partially … or at least he will soon. The majority of the Raiders’ ownership stake still remains in the hands of Mark Davis, son of the legendary Al Davis and owner of one legendary haircut. However, Brady was indeed offered a minority ownership stake in the Raiders, at a notable discount, late last spring (per Sports Illustrated).
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Now, it does bear mentioning that Brady’s ownership stake in Las Vegas has not yet been made official. According to a report from CBS Sports, the hangup is the aforementioned discount that Brady received. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay explained that to reporters when asked, though it’s unclear if his quoted figures were exact or just hypothetical.
“We’re trying to work it through,” Irsay said via the Boston Globe. “The number just has to be a reasonable number for purchase price from Tom, is the only thing. If reasonable value says … that 10 percent should be $525 million, you can’t pay $175 million.”
Nonetheless, when Brady speaks on the subject, he makes the matter of dollars and cents sound like a mere formality. And he also sounds quite eager to get started on the next leg of his football journey.
“And then the opportunity came about to become a minority owner in the Raiders; it was a dream come true for me. I’ll be playing a very passive role. This is something that I’m interested in doing for the rest of my life,” Brady told the Associated Press.
While Brady minimized his responsibilities in the above quote, other reports indicate he’ll have a say in major personnel decisions. In fact, this Yahoo article says team brass will consult with Brady, among others, when it comes time to make a decision on Vegas’ next head coach.
Given Brady’s legendary football acumen, he seems like a good resource to tap into for such important decisions. And it seems like, for the first time in almost a quarter-century, a football team will be happy to be, at least partially, owned by Brady.
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