Tom Brady’s potential ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders continues to be up in the air. Over the summer, it was reported that Brady and Raiders owner Mark Davis had agreed on a deal to allow Brady to purchase a minority share in the team.
But what was thought to be all but a done deal has hit nothing but hiccups ever since. First, there was a no-equity rule that was passed by the NFL that prevented Brady from having a position with the team as part of his ownership deal. Then rumors came out about Davis potentially trying to sell Brady a stake at a significant discount which other owners weren’t in favor of.
The belief was that Brady would be getting somewhere in the range of a 70% discount for his stake in the Raiders, and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay recently threw out some numbers that would be right in line with those rumors via Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post:
“If reasonable value says . . . that 10 percent should be $525 million, you can’t pay $175 million,” Irsay said, according to the Boston Globe.
If these numbers were to be factual, then Brady would indeed be getting a stake in the Raiders at one-third of the price, which is something other owners would frown upon. Brady’s potential Raiders ownership was already looking rocky as it was expected that the NFL’s finance committee wouldn’t approve the sale at this week’s owner meetings. And it wasn’t approved because it wasn’t even voted on, not even making it on the docket.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk also explained why owners would be against such a deal at that discounted price:
Why would other owners care if Davis wants to give his apparent new BFF a really good deal? Owners have a very strong interest in maximizing the value of all equity in every franchise. If Brady buys 5-10 percent of the Raiders for relative peanuts, that becomes a potential impediment when some other owner tries to sell a piece of his or her franchise.
Davis and Brady sound intent on figuring out some sort of way to get the quarterback in the ownership door, but for the time being, they have been turned away time and time again. The two will need to go back to the drawing board if they plan on getting Brady his stake in the Raiders any time soon.
