— Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis acknowledged Monday he has “come to an agreement” with Tom Brady for the retired quarterback and future Pro Football Hall of Famer to join the organization’s ownership group, pending NFL approval.
“We’re excited for Tom to join the Raiders,” Davis told ESPN in a phone call from the NFL spring meeting in Minneapolis, “and it’s exciting because he will be just the third player in the history of the National Football League to become an owner.”
The other two: George Halas and Jerry Richardson.
Davis, though, had no comment when asked if Brady finally admitted to him if the Tuck Rule play was actually a fumble.
The play, in an AFC divisional playoff game at the New England Patriots on Jan. 19, 2002, launched Brady and the Pats as a dynasty while hastening the Raiders’ decline, as they have not won a playoff game since appearing in the Super Bowl the following year.
Brady went on to win six Super Bowls with New England and another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring this offseason after 23 seasons in the NFL and holding a majority of the league’s career passing records.
Brady also is part of Davis’ WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces ownership group, acquiring a stake in March.
At least 24 current NFL team owners have to approve Brady’s partnership, which is the case with all minority and majority owners.
It is believed that Brady’s 10-year, $375 million contract to broadcast NFL games with Fox, which is due to start in 2024, would be unaffected by an investment in the Raiders, as a source previously told ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Adam Schefter that Fox had “blessed” the arrangement.