Tom Brady’s long path to a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders finally has a finish line.
The NFL’s finance committee has reviewed Brady’s bid and plans to bring it to the other franchise owners for a vote during Tuesday’s fall owners meetings in Atlanta, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Brady will need votes from at least 24 of the league’s 32 club owners.
ESPN presents the vote as a formality, as the committee would not bring Brady’s ownership stake to a vote if it wasn’t sure he would be approved. If/when Brady is approved, he will be the new owner of approximately 10% of the Raiders as part of a group that also includes financier Tom Wagner.
Brady originally struck the deal with Raiders majority owner Mark Davis in May 2023, but ran into obstacles due to concerns he was given a sizable discount for a stake in a team Forbes values at $6.7 billion, with some estimating the former quarterback was getting a discount as large as 70%.
He eventually cleared that hurdle by bumping up the price, and now he’s set to buy into the most lucrative sports league in the world. The Raiders stake is part of Brady’s growing portfolio, which also includes stakes in the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, the English League One soccer club Birmingham City, the Hertz Team JOTA racing team and a Major League Pickleball franchise.
Brady made more than $300 million in contract money during his playing career, received plenty more millions in endorsement money and just began his $375 million contract to call NFL games for Fox Sports. That job with Fox could see some friction now that he’s bought into a franchise, as other teams understandably might not be keen on sharing insights into their operations with the minority owner of another team.
Such a situation isn’t unprecedented, as MLB teams have done something similar with broadcasters who also work as advisers for other teams.
