It took a long time, but Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis is finally getting the co-owner he desired.
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On Saturday night, the NFL’s finance committee reportedly unanimously approved Tom Brady’s bid for a 10% stake in the Raiders’ organization. The news – reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter – means Brady is an owners’ vote away from joining their ranks.
With Brady in tow, Las Vegas’ football franchise could finally find its way back into relevance. The Raiders have just two winning seasons since losing Super Bowl XXXVII in the 2002-03 campaign.
The only team with fewer than Las Vegas’ 126 victories in that time is the Cleveland Browns (118).
Over the same time frame, Brady – who has been retired for more than a year – won 231 contests as a starting quarterback. He knows what characteristics define winning organizations, and how to implement them.
24 of the league’s 32 primary owners must approve the sale for Brady to officially become an owner. Schefter stated the owners’ vote appears to be a formality.
If authorized, Brady will be the third former NFL player to make the leap to ownership, joining George Halas (Chicago Bears) and Jerry Richardson (Baltimore Colts/Carolina Panthers).
If Davis cedes some control and allows Brady to get his fingerprints on the roster and coaching staff, the Raiders just may find on-field success once again. But there’s another way that Brady in an ownership position could help the team.
Brady’s social capital could help the Raiders
Davis’ move from Oakland to Las Vegas greatly increased the value of his organization. Brady’s addition to his operation should improve his financial outlook even further.
Brady currently has three million Twitter/X followers, more than one million more than the Raiders (1.9 million). On Instagram, Brady (15 million followers) trounces them (2.4 million followers) by a much wider margin.
Brady’s mere presence in silver and black will attract thousands of fans, meaning more ad revenue and merchandise sales.
But being worth a lot of money – as the Dallas Cowboys can attest – doesn’t guarantee you’ll win a championship. When you bring Brady into the fold, you’re signaling a desire to compete for Super Bowls.
Brady took the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – who have the league’s worst all-time winning percentage – to the mountain top. But we have to remember, he was an active player. There’s a chance he can do the same for Las Vegas, but only if Davis allows him the chance.
