Can Tom Brady unretire and be a Raiders owner? He’s ‘not opposed’ to playing, even for another team
Tom Brady is retired from the NFL and has been for more than a year.
He’s moved on to other endeavors, like his Fox Sports broadcasting gig starting this fall and a bid to become a minority owner in the Las Vegas Raiders.
The seven-tme Super Bowl champion reaffirmed his status as a retired NFL player twice during an appearance on an episode of the “Deep Cuts With VicBlend” podcast that dropped this week.
First, about 54 minutes into the episode, Brady stated: “My career and all that, that’s a thing of the past in my mind. I was a gladiator out there, and now my time’s moved on.”
Sounds straightforward enough.
Later, Blend stated to the former quarterback for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, “You’re 100% retired.”
When Tom Brady retires to the TV booth, the former NFL quarterback will need to criticize players while facing criticism from viewers.
Brady responded with a firm, “Yes.”
OK, great, that’s a wrap. Oh wait, there’s more to this conversation.
Blend: “Let’s say, one day there’s a situation. Right? Maybe it’s the 49ers. Maybe, you know, heading to the playoffs, offense is great —”
Brady: “Patriots, could be Raiders, could be — you never know.”
Wait, what?
Blend: “God forbid somebody goes down. Would you pick up that phone?”
This is where the 46-year-old Brady gently reminds his host of what he said literally less than 20 seconds earlier.
Right?
RIGHT???
Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady went on record yet again Thursday to insist he’s not planning on making an NFL comeback.
Nope.
Brady: “I’m not opposed to it. I don’t know if they’re gonna let me if I become an owner of an NFL team. But I don’t know if — I don’t know. I’m always gonna be in good shape, always be able to throw the ball. So, to come in for a little bit, like [Michael Jordan] coming back? I don’t know if they’d let me, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
Sigh.
This shouldn’t be a surprise from a guy who first announced his retirement on Feb. 1, 2022, only to unretire six weeks later and play another year before hanging it up again exactly a year after he did so the first time.
Brady reached an agreement to join the Raiders ownership group last May (the deal is still pending approval from the NFL). Naturally, many people immediately wondered if Brady might be angling to become an owner-player. The NFL didn’t immediately respond to The Times’ questions for this story, but last year the league told multiple media outlets that 24 of the NFL’s 32 team owners would need to vote in approval of such a move.
So if enough of those guys aren’t opposed to the idea and Brady isn’t, then, yeah, it sounds like something that could happen.
Oh, and by the way, Fox Sports also did not immediately respond to questions for this story — they may have been too busy checking the fine print of Brady’s contract.
