Tom Brady’s Raiders Stake Bid Keeps Getting More Complicated

It’s been more than 15 months since news broke that Tom Brady (above, right) had reached a deal to acquire a minority stake in the Raiders from team owner Mark Davis (above, left). But fellow NFL owners have been slow to approve the purchase, which keeps hitting speed bumps.

This week, at the special owners meeting in Minnesota that saw the league approve private equity investment in franchises, the 32 clubs also received an update on Brady’s bid for a piece of Las Vegas. 

With Brady’s pending deal to become a Raiders limited partner, he will face severe restrictions in his new role as the lead NFL game analyst at Fox Sports, as first reported by ESPN. Even before a potential deal is approved, he will be prohibited from taking part in basic analyst duties like attending broadcast production meetings with coaches and players as well as watching practices, among other non-media-related limitations. 

Fox signed Brady to a 10-year, $375 million contract. Now he’ll have an extra challenge to make that payday worthwhile.

What Happens in Vegas …

This week’s news is just the latest in the complicated saga surrounding Brady’s attempt to become part of the Raiders ownership group.

Initially, NFL owners balked at the discounted price Davis was willing to give Brady—potentially up to 70%—in exchange for between a 5% and 10% stake in the franchise. At the time, Las Vegas was valued at $6.2 billion. In July, Pro Football Hall of Famer Richard Seymour was said to be partnering with Brady to purchase a stake in the Raiders, per ProFootballTalk.

NFL owners have fall meetings scheduled in Atlanta in October. They could potentially take a vote on approving Brady’s bid then. Or, it could continue to remain in limbo as it has been for more than a year.