Tom Brady's Raiders Ownership Kills Comeback to Patriots, NFL?
Over two decades after they failed to stop one of his first, the Las Vegas Raiders franchise has finally stopped a Tom Brady comeback ... quite possibly for good.
While the New England Patriots legend's latest retirement carried a sense of finality to it, professional and amateur observers weren't fully ready to close the door on the Brady era that has consumed the entire new century of NFL football thus far. Brady's latest venture, however, perhaps officially ends the discourse for good.
Brady's bid on a minority stake in the Raiders franchise was submitted to the NFL this week, his second deposit in a Sin City team after previously putting money into the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces. While such a stake wouldn't preclude him from accepting the massive deal waiting for him in Fox Sports' booth, it would more than likely preclude him from stepping on the gridiron as a player.
ESPN's Jeff Darlington pointed out that Brady's new title of NFL team owner would prevent him from taking the field as long as his name tops the Raiders' masthead ... on one condition.
"NFL rules require a vote of all 32 teams to allow anyone to play while holding a financial interest in a club," Darlington declared on Twitter. "So we can all move on now… right? …right??"
Considering the fact that Brady has brought untold amounts of on-field pain to his new partners' competing squads, it's perhaps highly unlikely they'd ever allow him back on a field if they could stop him without injury. Brady, of course, is also set to turn 46 in August.
So committed is Brady, apparently, to the idea that this retirement is for good that he would not only join up with one of his most famous victims but he would place a vested interest in an NFL team to adhere to rules that would more or less prevent him from taking the field. Of course, Brady, almost equally successful in his business endeavors as he was in his gridiron affairs, likely saw the Raiders as a viable investment, but one certainly couldn't blame him for shutting down the rumor mill for good.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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