Tom Brady nearly joined the Las Vegas Raiders organization as a player in 2020, with owner Mark Davis being denied his dream quarterback by then-head coach Jon Gruden and General Manager Mike Mayock.
Davis revealed his pitch to get a free-agent Brady to the AFC West, before he ultimately chose the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning his seventh Super Bowl in his first season in Florida.
The 70-year-old Davis eventually fulfilled his desire to team up with Brady a few years down the line by bringing him into the organization as a minority owner.
Yet, he would have opted to replace Derek Carr with Brady, with a ton of remorse for seeing the now-Fox commentator’s success past age 40 in the NFL.
‘He was supposed to be here in 2020,’ Davis said of Brady in an interview released by the Raiders on Wednesday. ‘That’s when our relationship started, was in 2020 when he was a free agent and we talked to him about coming here to play quarterback.’
‘Obviously, it was a tough decision, he was close to coming here, but the head coach and general manager decided they wanted to go in a different direction. So, we didn’t sign him, but as I got to know him through that process, I let his agent know that when he was done playing, I would like him to be a part of our organization.’
Tom Brady nearly joined the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 before heading to the Buccaneers
Raiders owner Mark Davis wanted Brady but his then-head coach and general manager didn’t
Brady played for three seasons for the Buccaneers, helping the team to a playoff appearance each season.
The signal caller’s arrival ended an 18-year streak without a playoff win for the organization, with Tampa Bay not missing the playoffs once since Brady came to town.
Meanwhile, the Raiders have not won a playoff game since the 2001 season, which ended with a Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers, the franchise’s last playoff win until Brady’s arrival.
Gruden lasted another season, plus five games, coaching the Raiders before he was fired by Davis. At the conclusion of the 2021 season, Mayock was given a pink slip too.
Now, Brady is part of the leadership trying to steer the Raiders back to playoff success.
It’ll be a tall task for Davis, Brady, and others to master, with the Kansas City Chiefs as division rivals.
Also standing in Las Vegas’ way are teams quarterbacked by Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, and CJ Stroud.
