When NFL legend Tom Brady became a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, it was unclear what (if any) role he would have in the organization. Now, after a losing season that featured Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew at quarterback, majority owner Mark Davis says his new partner will be intimately involved in searching for the team's next QB.
“Tom Brady was in the news this week, specifically as it relates to his ownership of the Raiders,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday. “I talked to owner Mark Davis about this this week. He told me that Tom Brady will have a huge voice in the organization when it comes to picking the quarterback. He said he has always been seeking someone to help oversee the football division. He told me he believes Tom Brady can do that.”
This is an interesting development on several levels as Brady's role with the Raiders begins to become more clear, at least to Mark Davis.
On the one hand, all-time great players have a spotty track record coaching or picking players for a team after retirement. Michael Jordan was a pretty terrible owner and general manager with the Charlotte NBA franchise and Wayne Gretzky was also a pretty terrible owner who installed himself as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, going 143-161-24 in four seasons.
At this point, there is nothing concrete to point to that says Brady will fare any better than these other GOATs in their sports when trying to solve the Raiders' quarterback conundrum.
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The other issue here is that it is an absolute farce that the lead FOX analyst for their football broadcasts is the owner of one of the league's 32 teams and may have a role “oversee[ing] the football division.” For fans, it's incredibly annoying that the main FOX color man is obviously and admittedly biased, but for the league, there is a fairness issue, too.
Broadcasters get inside information, even if Brady isn't technically allowed to sit in on pregame production meetings with coaches and players. Plus, that position carries a lot of sway around the league. What is to stop Brady from bad-mouthing a player and tanking his value heading into free agency only to have the Raiders sign him at a discounted price in the offseason?
