Legendary quarterback Tom Brady is making the transition from player to owner this season.
The former New England Patriot and Tampa Bay Buccaneer reportedly finalized an agreement with Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis to buy a minority share in the team, which apparently won’t be a conflict of interest despite Brady also agreeing to terms to call NFL games for Fox beginning in 2024.
Despite everything signaling that Brady’s playing days are behind him — including the future first-ballot Hall of Famer’s own words — there is still a segment of fans holding out hope for a second return.
Well, not to rain on your parade if you’re one of those fans, but Brady’s decision to join the Raiders’ ownership group all but guarantees that his playing career is over, thanks to an obscure rule.
For someone with an ownership stake in an NFL team to be permitted to play, it would require a unanimous vote from all 32 teams. It’s hard to imagine that would work out in Brady’s favor.
This should also put to rest any of the final few holdouts still wondering if Tom will come back out of retirement. NFL rules require a vote of all 32 teams to allow anyone to play while holding a financial interest in a club. So we can all move on now… right? …right?? 😂 https://t.co/sg8SzffpWf
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 22, 2023
So, there you have it. Even if Brady had any plans to return to football — and there’s no reason to think he did — his decision to become a part owner in Las Vegas ended any chance of that, in all likelihood.
