Tom Brady was the GOAT on the field and is looking to make just as big an impression off it.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion finally got his bid to become a minority owner in the Las Vegas Raiders over the line in 2024.
He is now entering his first offseason as a member of the front office having been given a prominent role in finding a new head coach and quarterback.
Raiders owner Mark Davis was thrilled to bring Brady’s experience on board and much has been made of his stellar contract book from 23 seasons in the NFL.
But much like his early struggles in the booth, the $375 million FOX Sports analyst has not had it all his own way.
Firstly, questions were raised about his ability to hold a key role with the Raiders while having access to crucial broadcast meetings.
The NFL placed restrictions on FOX’s expensive aquisition to avoid controversy and he will have to walk a fine line with league bosses keen for him to avoid criticizing teams or officials on air.
Brady has been thrown in at the deep end as an executive as the ailing Raiders look to address a slump that has lasted decades.
Since losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Super Bowl XXXVII, the franchise has only made the playoffs twice — losing both in the wild-card round.
This offseason has seen major changes with head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco sacked and a gaping hole at the quarterback position that Brady is too old to fill.
Per The Athletic, Brady spent hours on Zoom with former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson in January.
No secret was made of the fact that the Raiders were doing everything they could to woo one of the hottest names in the current coaching cycle but the Chicago Bears won the race.
A deciding factor was a lack of a quarterback, with Caleb Williams‘ presence a huge selling point for Chicago.
Pete Carroll landed the job in Sin City instead — a seasoned, Super Bowl-winning coach who is respected throughout the league but not as exciting a candidate as Johnson, who could, of course, turn out to be a better assistant than leader.
Armed with around $90 million in cap space, Raiders bosses have now set about fixing their quarterback issue.
Jordan Schultz reported that his FOX colleague had met with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford — a story that allegedly led to a now infamous row with rival insider Ian Rapoport in a Starbucks.
Sean McVay had given his signal-caller permission to gauge interest as he chased a significant increase on his $27 million contract.
It quickly became public knowledge that the Raiders were strongly making a case for the former Lions passer in what could have been an instant fix.
But the Rams were still making positive noises about their man under center and it appears they used interest from the Raiders and New York Giants to help them gauge his market value before agreeing their own deal.
The Rams announced that Stafford isn’t going anywhere and is officially off the trade market.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that, “the Rams and Matthew Stafford reached agreement today on a restructured deal that keeps him in Los Angeles and quashes any and all trade speculation, per sources.”
At 37, Stafford was never likely to leave McVay for a team that went 4-13 in a brutal division that features the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos.
The Raiders appear to have shown their hand too early twice in the rush to make a big impression after taking a gamble on the New England Patriots icon.
Brady may want to keep his cards closer to his chest when he makes his next move.
But one thing we learned from his playing career is that you can never count out the king of the comeback — especially when his franchise owns the No.6 pick in April’s Draft.
There’s plenty of time between now and the season for things to fall into place in Las Vegas — Carroll didn’t move to Sin City for a losing record.