UFC President Dana White has revealed he almost brokered a deal for NFL legends Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to join the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, but then head coach Jon Gruden "blew it up".
At the time, Brady was a free agent after leaving the New England Patriots while Gronkowski has been retired for a year. And while speaking to Gronkowski on ESPN SportsCenter, White revealed that he helped put a deal in place for the pair to join the Raiders.
"I know when Tom was a free agent about two to three years ago when he went to Tampa, you gave him a recruiting pitch on why he should join the Las Vegas Raiders," Gronkowski said to White. "What went wrong with that recruiting pitch you gave him?"
White then explained that the deal was so close to coming to fruition that Brady was "already looking at houses" before Gruden pulled the plug, with the legendary quarterback later joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers along with Gronkowski and leading them to victory at the 2020 Super Bowl.
"I worked to put that deal together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders and it was almost a done deal and at the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said he didn't want them and all hell broke loose," White said. "It was crazy.
"Brady was already looking at houses. It wasn't being said yet that Gronk was coming, so Las Vegas would've had Brady and Gronk the year the Bucs won the Super Bowl but Gruden blew the deal up.
"There is so much of a story that goes along with this behind the scenes. I was never going to tell that story until Gronk just said it."
Gronkowski then confirmed White's story was "exactly what happened", before admitting he was glad that he and Brady joined the Bucs instead of the Raiders. "I'm glad it did not go through," he said.
"It all worked out for the best, man. I'm glad we went to Tampa, man. It just worked out. I love that place."
