Football fans can be forgiven for disbelieving before-Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady when he announced his retirement on February 1.
After all, didn’t Brady just retire on February 1, 2022, only to reverse course on March 13, 40 days later? Brady seems to have fallen into a cycle of retiring and not retiring, unlike Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre of the past.
However, on Monday, Brady did something important that seemed to close the door on a potential return: he bought an ownership stake in Raiders.
“We have reached an agreement for Tom Brady to be with the Raiders and we have submitted it to the NFL for approval,” Raiders owner Mark Davis told ESPN on Monday. “We are excited for Tom to join the Raiders.”
As ESPN’s Jeff Darlington pointed out Monday night, a player can only play while having a financial interest in a team if all 32 teams allow him to do so.
It should also put to rest any last few holdouts still wondering if Tom will ever come back from retirement. NFL rules require a vote by all 32 teams to allow anyone to play while having a financial interest in a club. So we can all move on… right? …yeah right?? 😂 https://t.co/sg8SzffpWf
– Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 22, 2023
Even if Brady wants to play—and with the start of a lucrative television deal with Fox, it doesn’t seem likely—he has toEVERY The NFL owner will either sign his cause, or sell his stake in Las Vegas.
We may have seen the last of Brady.
