This week, Tom Brady and the Las Vegas Raiders agreed to a deal that would make him a minority owner of the team. The news came the same week that it was revealed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be sidelined until at least training camp after undergoing foot surgery, leading some to wonder if Brady could return to the league to fill in for Garoppolo if necessary. But that doesn’t sound likely.
Before Tom Brady is able to officially become an owner of the Raiders, NFL owners still have to agree to approve the sale. And according to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that approval could come with a stipulation that Brady stay retired.
“Interestingly, a league source raised the possibility that Brady’s approval by fellow owners could come with the provision that he is fully retired. If so, that eliminates the possibility of him trying to simultaneously own a piece of the franchise while also playing for it,” Bonsignore wrote for the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Saturday afternoon.
However, even if that provision is not included in the approval, playing in the NFL while owning a piece of an NFL team would still require approval by the league’s owners.
“If, for argument’s sake, the sale goes through without provisions and Brady opts at some point to come out of retirement to play again, doing so would require approval by the owners. That stipulation about playing applies to every owner, from Jerry Jones to Stan Kroenke,” Bonsignore continued. “Without approval, Brady would have to sell back his share of the Raiders before he could return to the field.”
So while it certainly wouldn’t be impossible for Brady to still return to the field at this point, it is looking less likely.
