Tom Brady Nearly Joined Las Vegas Raiders … Until Jon Gruden Sacked Deal

Posted on: August 22, 2022, 04:37h. 

Last updated on: August 24, 2022, 12:33h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas.

Football superstar Tom Brady was all set to quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders when he was a free agent in the 2020 off-season. But then-Raiders coach Jon Gruden shut the deal down.

Tom Brady quarterback Las Vegas Raiders Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Superstar quarterback Tom Brady nearly became a Las Vegas Raider in 2020, according to UFC prez Dana White, who tried to broker the deal. Instead, Brady wound up helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win the Super Bowl. (Image: usatoday.com)

UFC President Dana White made the revelation to Rob Gronkowski during an ESPN show this weekend. Gronkowski, host of the show, was set to join the Raiders in the same deal.

It was almost a done deal, and at the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn’t want him, and all hell broke loose,” said White, who claimed to try and help broker the deal. “It was crazy. Brady was already looking at houses.”

To put this into perspective, two decades after taking part in a play that denied the silver and black a shot at the Super Bowl, Brady could have helped make things right with Raiders fans. Instead, he wound up in Tampa Bay, where he won his seventh ring.

‘No Comment’ All Around

Gruden, who resigned from the Raiders last fall after allegedly sending racist, homophobic, and misogynistic emails, has not commented about the new revelations. However, they track his strong response to being asked about the team’s interest in Brady in March 2020.

You’re killing me, man,” Gruden said via the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We love our quarterback. Our quarterback’s a really good player, Derek Carr. I want to reiterate that to everybody here in Vegas. We’ve got a good, young quarterback, and the film, the statistics, and analytics prove it.”

Brady hasn’t commented either, though in a June 2021 appearance on LeBron James’ HBO show, “The Shop,” he stated: “One of the teams, they weren’t interested at the very end. I was thinking, ‘You’re sticking with that (expletive)?’”

Raiders owner Mark Davis danced around the news of the revelation in an interview with the R-J, stating: “That was what — two to three years ago or something? I don’t know, man. Talk to Dana. I remember that Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay. That’s basically what I remember. I have no idea. Dana has the stories. I love Dana. He is a great, great promoter. Why would this make me upset?”

Brady Had Options

As Brady’s time in New England drew to a close, he reportedly talked to several teams. Those included his hometown, San Francisco 49ers and the Miami Dolphins. (An NFL investigation determined that the Dolphins had impermissible communications with Brady in 2019 and 2020 while he was under contract with the Patriots and in 2021, while Brady was with the Buccaneers.)

Gronkowski was under contract with the Patriots at the time, despite having retired after the 2018 season, which resulted in the team’s sixth Super Bowl title. New England later traded him to Tampa Bay, where he and Brady teamed up to help the club end its 18-year Super Bowl drought. Gronkowski said he was “glad” the Raiders deal was quashed. “It all worked out for the best, man,” he said.

Gronkowski retired for a second time after the 2021 season, while Brady briefly retired before returning for his 23rd season.