Mark Davis

Raiders Rumors: Telesco, Davis, Brady, Pierce, Carroll, Belichick, Leonard

February 2nd, 2025 at 9:45pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

After a playoff win drought of more than 20 years, Raiders owner Mark Davis was hoping that adding Tom Brady to the ownership group would result in a transformative offseason.

Indeed, Brady was a key voice in the Raiders’ decisions to fire head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco, as well as the team’s subsequent search processes to fill both positions, per The Athletic’s Tashan Reed. Las Vegas ultimately hired Pete Carroll as head coach and John Spytek as general manager, but Brady will continue to play a role in football operations.

Davis praised Pierce’s locker room leadership, but finishing in last place in the AFC West for the first time since 2018 was too much for the 46-year-old coach to overcome. “We just felt it was time for a change,” said Davis (via Reed).

Davis was satisfied with Telesco’s 2024 draft class, which featured star tight end Brock Bowers in the first round and starting offensive linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and Delmar Glaze on Day 2. However, Davis hinted that he was disappointed with Telesco’s free agency signings in the offseason, which included a massive four-year, $110MM contract for defensive tackle Christian Wilkins.

Wilkins played in just five games with two sacks before suffering a Jones fracture in his foot that would require season-ending surgery. The Raiders’ other major signing, quarterback Gardner Minshew, similarly failed to live up to his two-year, $25MM deal. He posted a passer rating of 81.0 before a broken collarbone ended his season. Pierce had benched Minshew on multiple occasions prior to that injury, effectively ensuring the veteran QB would not be back in 2025.

The list goes on: Alexander Mattison (one year, $2MM) averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, while veteran offensive linemen Cody Whitehair (one year, $2.5MM) and Andrus Peat (one year, $2MM) combined for just four starts. Wide receiver signings Michael Gallup (one year, $1.75MM) and Jalen Guyton (one year, $1.29MM) were not on the team’s 53-man roster by the time the regular season started.

Telesco choosing Bowers, who went on to break Mike Ditka‘s 63-year-old record for rookie tight end yardage, only to be fired after one season does seem a bit hasty. At the time of the ouster, it was reported Brady and Davis decided to start fresh to align the team’s next HC and GM. Telesco has been fired twice in 13 months, after seeing a 63-21 Raiders demolition over the Chargers end his stay in Los Angeles. Telesco and Pierce butted heads on the quarterback issue, which effectively went unaddressed — as far as the big picture is concerned — much to the coach’s chagrin.

As Davis did in December, Carroll confirmed Brady will have a significant role in helping the Raiders identify a quarterback. Viewed by most as the greatest quarterback in NFL history, Brady is now operating in a historically unusual dual role — lead FOX announcer and Raiders part-owner/personnel exec. Brady, 47, is not leaving FOX after this season; the 23-year veteran QB will try to balance these roles moving forward.

“We happen to have the greatest of all time to help us,” Carroll said, via Reed and The Athletic colleague Vic Tafur. “And we’re going to lean on Tom as much as we possibly can. Because nobody has the insights that he has.”

Davis had eyed Brady to fill a football ops role after Jon Gruden “had his head chopped off,” referring to the latter’s forced resignation in light of the problematic emails that surfaced in 2021 as part of the NFL’s Dan Snyder investigation. Gruden remains embroiled in a lawsuit against the NFL, while Brady and ex-college teammate and Buccaneers coworker Spytek will work together to help rebuild the Raiders.

The Raiders were briefly connected to Bill Belichick to team with Brady, but those rumors did not get far off the ground. Belichick signed his North Carolina contract, and while the $10MM buyout is not believed to have proved to be much of an issue for NFL teams, six jobs are now gone. One going to Carroll, who is seven months older than Belichick, may not be sitting too well with an eight-time Super Bowl winner who passed on a second NFL carousel ride to preemptively enter the college ranks. Talk in NFL circles pointed to Belichick not being pleased about the Raiders hiring Carroll, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes.

While the Raiders moving the bar for oldest head coach ever hired (by seven years) could reopen the door for Belichick, his passing on an aggressive NFL push now will still make matters difficult if he decides to do so in 2026. Belichick would turn 74 before Week 1 of the ’26 season. Carroll is in place as a short-term Raiders fix; it will be interesting to see how Belichick fares in a similar role in Chapel Hill.

Carroll already retained Patrick Graham as DC, and he will keep Rob Leonard in place as D-line coach, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo adds. The Raiders interviewed Leonard for the DC post, and they are adding an additional title — that of run-game coordinator — to his duties for the 2025 season. Leonard has previously coached with the Giants, Dolphins and Ravens.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post

NFL Staff Rumors: Raiders, Jets, 49ers

January 12th, 2025 at 9:10pm CST by Ely Allen

Based on several reports in recent days, we’ve been pushing the assumption that part-owner Tom Brady has immense influence in the Raiders‘ operations, namely the ongoing searches for a new head coach and general manager. This sentiment was all but confirmed in an article today by Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. One of Bonsignore’s sources with knowledge of the situation told him that “this is Tom’s show now” and that majority owner Mark Davis wants Brady to have a “huge” voice in the team’s operations.

Brady’s influence does appear to have its limits, though. According to Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed of The Athletic, many in the NFL pinned new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel as Brady’s top option to coach in Las Vegas. Vrabel wasn’t one of the team’s scheduled interviews, though, as those became known to the media. Apparently, Davis was “not interested in another go-round with ‘Patriots Way’ after the failure of Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler two years ago.”

Brady’s voice will otherwise still be heavily considered in the search for a new head coach and general manager. Buccaneers assistant general manager John Spytek has already been identified as a potential candidate, aided by Brady’s connection to his former team. While Tafur and Reed don’t mention any actual rumored interest, they list Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newmark, Lions assistant general manager Ray Agnew, Lions director of scouting Dwayne Joseph, Chiefs assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi, and Seahawks assistant general manager Nolan Teasley as names to watch for based on their potential compatibility with different head coaching candidates.

Here are a few other staff rumors from around the NFL:

The Jets were another contender for Vrabel’s services, and they reportedly were extremely interested in bringing him in. In a Q&A with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Breer stated his belief that New York would’ve allowed Vrabel to choose his own general manager had he signed with them, especially considering their main plan is to find the best guy (head coach or general manager) and build around them to achieve alignment throughout the coaching and front office staffs. Ultimately, Breer believes the reputation of team owner Woody Johnson likely dissuaded Vrabel away from the Jets.
Staying in New York and with Breer’s peer at Sports Illustrated, Patrick McAvoy, we got a report that SportsNet New York insider Connor Hughes is under the opinion that Rex Ryan “is completely out” of the head coaching race for the Jets. Hughes was quoted on WFAN telling Rami Lavi that “that is not gonna happen with the Jets.”
Following the departure of special teams coordinator Brian Schneider, the 49ers have begun the process of replacing him. To wit, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the team has completed an interview with Lions assistant special teams coach Jett Modkins. Modkins has spent the last four seasons in Detroit under coordinator Dave Fipp, who is widely considered one of the best in the game.

Raiders Fire GM Tom Telesco

January 9th, 2025 at 11:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders are giving quick hooks to both their 2024 power brokers. Two days after Antonio Pierce‘s ouster, Tom Telesco is gone. The Raiders announced the veteran GM’s firing Thursday.

Telesco was believed to be safe after Pierce’s firing, as teams almost never make GMs one-and-dones. That will happen to Telesco, whose Brock Bowers draft choice did not prove enough for the Raiders to justify a second season. As Las Vegas searches for a new head coach, the team will clear the decks to pair that to-be-determined leader with a front office boss.

The team’s HC search is directly tied to Telesco’s dismissal. A search for two leaders at the same time appealed to the Raiders more than potentially forcing a head coach on an incumbent GM, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini notes. This will be a tough blow for Telesco, who has now been fired twice since December 2023.

Given tremendous power as a minority owner, Tom Brady‘s fingerprints are involved here. The broadcaster/part-owner discussed the situation with Mark Davis, per The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, and those conversations pointed the team in the direction of a full-on new start. Telesco, 52, was also not involved in the decision to fire Pierce, Tafur adds. Considering Brady’s influence now, Telesco was set to have his power curbed had he been retained for a second year. But this firing likely closes the book on his GM career. Trent Baalke is the only second-chance GM remaining, and his Jaguars standing is murky right now.

Last year, the Raiders brought in Telesco shortly after removing Pierce’s interim tag. Telesco had been the Chargers’ GM from 2013-23. While GMs infrequently receive second chances, Telesco’s experience brought Davis to sign off on an arranged marriage of sorts, with the owner wanting to pair his unseasoned HC with a veteran exec. Telesco-Pierce friction developed early, particularly about the quarterback position, last year. As the team attempts to solve that issue, neither will be part of it.

Pierce had supported a trade-up move to land a potential long-term QB option in the 2024 draft, while Telesco was in the camp of retaining assets and making the pick at No. 13. Having roster control, Telesco won out and Bowers delivered a historic season. Likely en route to a first-team All-Pro honor, Bowers broke Mike Ditka‘s longstanding record for receiving yardage by a rookie tight end. Bowers’ 1,194-yard year aside, the Raiders still have a glaring need at the most important position. A new GM will now tackle that from the No. 6 spot in the draft.

The Raiders had pursued Jayden Daniels, but a climb from No. 13 to No. 2 to reunite the ex-Arizona State passer with Pierce was never viewed as likely. The Commanders shot down the one offer they received for the pick; that proposal likely came from the Raiders. Michael Penix Jr. emerged as a fallback plan, but the team was not high enough on the left-handed prospect that a trade-up was strongly considered. After the Broncos chose Bo Nix at 12, the Raiders were effectively cut off. This significantly hampered Pierce, who did not warm up to Gardner Minshew. Pierce benched the free agent signing on a few occasions. More Pierce-Telesco friction developed during the season, and Brady’s outsized influence appeared to affect the GM.

Working with stopgap options at QB, Pierce finished 4-13 in his only full season as HC. He had gone 5-4 as Las Vegas’ interim coach. At that time, Davis was linked to potentially hiring an exec to check in above a GM. No such hire happened, but NFL owners approving Brady this past fall may vault the all-time QB great into such a role. Brady is on track to be a central figure in the team’s search for a quarterback answer, and the high-profile FOX staffer has already been heavily involved in the Raiders’ coaching search. Thursday’s firing will clear the way for a high-end coaching candidate to have a say in the team’s GM hire.

Telesco’s two-year, $25MM Minshew contract did not do much for the Raiders, beyond a Week 2 upset of the Ravens. Minshew may well be cut soon. The other notable Telesco free agency pickup cost far more, but Christian Wilkins — given a four-year, $110MM deal that checked in behind only Chris Jones‘ among D-tackles — suffered a Jones fracture that knocked him out after five games. The Raiders’ decision to let Josh Jacobs walk in free agency may not have been as costly as the Giants’ apathy regarding Saquon Barkley, but the defection hurt Vegas’ run game as well. Jacobs said he did not speak with Telesco before he left for Green Bay.

Telesco’s short Raiders tenure also included a trade of Davante Adams, who had run out of patience with the Raiders’ quarterback situation. Telesco landed a third-round pick from the Jets, who took on all of the wideout’s remaining 2024 salary. That pick will now help Brady and the to-be-determined GM, as the team may need ammo to trade into Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward territory, as the Titans (No. 1), Browns (No. 2) and Giants (No. 3) need signal-caller help as well.

Vegas may not end up holding a special place for the twice-fired GM, as a 63-21 Raiders rout of the Chargers led Telesco and Brandon Staley out the door in Los Angeles. Telesco’s Chargers teams had received steady praise for their roster construction, and the Raiders viewed the GM as having assembled better rosters than the results ultimately yielded. That influenced the team’s GM pick, even as Telesco only went 3-for-11 in playoff berths as the Bolts’ front office boss. The next Raiders GM search committee will have a prominent new voice in Brady.

Brady has already contacted ex-Patriots boss Bill Belichick about potentially bailing on North Carolina and coming aboard, but the new Tar Heels coach is not believed to be considering a return to the league. A GM opening would clear a potential path, however. The Raiders also secured a meeting with Lions OC Ben Johnson, one of the hottest HC candidates in recent memory. Johnson is meeting with three other teams this week as well. Having an open GM slot would stand to appeal to Johnson, who has been selective during his time on the HC carousel.

The Raiders have now fired two GMs since October 2023, having canned Dave Ziegler at the same time of Josh McDaniels‘ ouster. The team had given Jon Gruden personnel power upon hiring him, with Mike Mayock riding shotgun. Neither setup lasted long. Brady and Co. will attempt to find a long-running HC-GM tandem for a franchise that has not enjoyed that in ages. The heavy turnover among the Raiders’ staff could certainly hurt the team’s chances at landing a quality GM. How that factors into the team’s upcoming pursuit will be worth monitoring.

Raiders Expected To Target 1st-Round QB

December 25th, 2024 at 8:07pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Raiders’ 2024 season has made one thing very clear: one way or another, Las Vegas needs a new quarterback next year.

Their quest to find a new signal-caller may have taken a hit in Week 16, as the Raiders’ victory over the Jaguars dropped them from second to sixth in the projected order for the 2025 NFL Draft.

While Las Vegas will take a hard look at any quarterback available in free agency, the team is expected to draft a quarterback in the first round at the direction of owner Mark Davis, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. But with up to three other teams in the first five picks targeting quarterbacks – including the Giants, the Titans, and even the Browns – the Raiders’ front office may have to get aggressive to fulfill Davis’ mandate.

Only Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedur Sanders are currently viewed as surefire first-round quarterback prospects, but that view may not be shared by new Raiders minority owner Tom Brady. He is expected to play a major role in the team’s personnel decisions and will surely have strong opinions about the available quarterback talent. That could expand Las Vegas’ search beyond Ward and Sanders or narrow it down to just one of the two. If it’s the former, staying at the sixth overall pick could still net the Raiders their desired prospect. If it’s the latter, trading up in the draft becomes an expensive necessity.

The Raiders will also have to decide on the futures of head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco, which will impact their quarterback plans. Even if one or both are retained, they’ll be on the hot seat next season. Waiting until the 2026 draft won’t be an option if they want to keep their jobs, further incentivizing a first-round quarterback selection next April.

The Raiders play the Saints in Week 17 before hosting the Chargers in Week 18. Pierce insisted on Monday that the Raiders don’t play “for anybody’s draft projections,” per Breer, but Davis, Telesco, and Brady could see it differently.

Franchise trajectories have been altered by late-season wins and losses, including a memorable Week 18 win by the Texans in 2022. That gave the Bears the No. 1 overall pick, kicking off a chain of events that resulted in Bryce Young going to Carolina in 2023 and Caleb Williams landing in Chicago a year later.

Broadcasting Could Affect Tom Brady’s Role In Potential Coaching Searches

December 25th, 2024 at 10:33am CST by Ely Allen

The Raiders are facing a lot of questions heading into the offseason without having made the playoffs for the third straight year and the seventh time in eight years. Lots of changes have already been made to the coaching staff midseason, and team owner Mark Davis has some decisions to make concerning the remainder of that staff. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Davis plans for minority owner and FOX Sports broadcaster Tom Brady to have a “huge voice” in some of those decisions, but Brady’s current television role may place some constraints on that.

There have reportedly been conversations concerning whether or not interim coach turned head coach Antonio Pierce will remain the skipper in 2025 after a disappointing 2024 season, but as mentioned above, there are openings on the staff already. Pierce already fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello, and offensive line coach James Cregg, three coaches he hired to his staff. If Pierce does get to stay, his judgement on hiring replacement coaches may come with a grain of salt. Interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner is a rumored candidate to join Bill Belichick‘s staff in Chapel Hill, as well, which would add another role to replace.

Not to mention that the future of the quarterback position remains in flux, as free agent addition Gardner Minshew and second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell have each failed to stake their claim on the job this year. Many are looking to the draft as a solution for the open starting spot, and though they hurt their odds at landing a top quarterback in the draft by winning this past weekend, it’s still within the realm of possibility that Las Vegas could secure a top passer.

Davis plans for Brady’s voice to be a stark one in these conversations of choosing the quarterback for the future of the franchise and building a coaching staff around them, but as of right now, he is respecting the former quarterback’s obligations to his current role with FOX Sports. An additional bump in the road comes as a result of FOX’s rights to air the Super Bowl this year. Because of this, Brady’s obligations to the network will extend another two weeks past when any other network would relinquish him.

The team has claimed they will make a decision on Pierce following the season, and seeing as they have been eliminated from the playoffs, that leaves about a month of time between when the search for a new head coach will start and when Brady will become fully available to the team. Davis claims that he talks to Brady “all of the time” and that “his input is greatly valued,” but it’s unclear if or how those conversations impose on Brady’s current broadcasting responsibilities.

If Davis and the Raiders end up parting ways with Pierce on Black Monday or soon thereafter, they will have to fend without Brady’s direct influence for the interim time until he’s made available. It sounds like Brady’s input is still available through his conversations with Davis, but until the postseason has concluded, Brady’s access to the team will continue to be limited.

Tom Brady To Play ‘Huge’ Role In Raiders’ Personnel Plans; Mark Davis Not Mandating QB Pick?

December 11th, 2024 at 10:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Since ditching their solid but unspectacular Derek Carr plan, the Raiders have delivered a rudderless two years at quarterback. They have not seen their free agency and draft plans pan out, and the organization is amid a lengthy buildup to another true search for an answer.

Although the Raiders looked into Tom Brady as a player ahead of the 2023 free agency period, the former Josh McDaniels pupil retired for a second time. That did not stop Mark Davis from aligning with the QB legend soon after. It took a bit, but Brady’s ownership stake is now official, leading to what promises to be a prominent partnership — one that will not place the 23-year veteran as a figurehead.

Brady will play a “huge” role in personnel, with Davis going as far as to confirm this (via the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore) at the latest owners meetings Wednesday. Bonsignore reported earlier this week Brady will hold a prominent place in the Raiders’ decision-making hierarchy “over time.” This invites obvious intrigue due to Brady’s stature and how it will impact the authority of GM Tom Telseco, who controls the Raiders’ roster. This is a night-and-day turnaround from Brady’s June 2023 assessment, which pegged a “very passive” role in Las Vegas.

More specifically, Davis wants to hear an honest assessment from a qualified staffer who is not fearing for his job, according to Yahoo’s Charles Robinson. Buying a stake in the Raiders earlier this season — after more than a year of waiting — Brady has no concerns of being pushed out. The NFL has allowed him to operate dually as FOX’s top analyst, albeit with significant sanctions, and minority Raiders owner. That setup is interesting enough by itself, but with Brady set to help shape the Raiders’ long-term plan, how they will go about addressing the quarterback spot will be a central 2025 NFL storyline.

Brady does not hold personnel experience, but Davis is certainly set to lean on this century’s highest-profile player’s body of work within the game. As it stands, Brady will be perhaps the lead decision-maker when it comes to Las Vegas determining its QB answer.

As for where that player will come from, a drafted arm might not be a lock. Conflicting accounts have emerged, per Robinson, as to whether Davis will demand the Raiders draft a starter-caliber QB. Be it through the draft or a veteran acquisition, Robinson adds Davis will mandate a long-term plan to fix this issue. The Raiders also want to improve their roster before acquiring a to-be-determined long-term QB, Robinson adds, noting that in-house extensions may be on the horizon. Given the Raiders’ 2-11 record, it will be interesting to see which players become targets.

Although Ken Stabler played longer with the Raiders, Carr operated as the longest-running QB1 in team history. The Raiders erred by signing Jimmy Garoppolo, and Antonio Pierce repeatedly benched Garder Minshew despite the team having signed him to a two-year, $25MM deal in March. Since Carr was parked in Week 17 of the 2022 season due to his contract, the Raiders have started six quarterbacks. That number might balloon to seven Sunday, if Desmond Ridder is needed in place of Aidan O’Connell. Neither of those passers, however, will be expected to factor into Telesco, Davis and now Brady’s long-term plan.

With a month left in the season, the Raiders are projected to hold the No. 1 overall pick. This top-heavy season, though, has produced a host of challengers for that spot. And the 2025 draft’s QB crop is not viewed especially well. That could prompt the Raiders to look into other options — be it a true starter or another bridge plan ahead of 2026. Antonio Pierce, who pushed for a Jayden Daniels reunion, would almost definitely — if he is retained, that is — be against a second bridge plan ahead of a 2026 draft choice. But Pierce or his replacement will be answering to Brady and Telesco on this matter.

Once they learned no Daniels trade would happen, the Raiders had Michael Penix Jr. as a potential fallback option. But the team did not want to trade up for the Washington prospect, who went eighth overall to Atlanta. The Falcons choosing Penix at 8 flummoxed the Raiders, Robinson adds, as the Telesco-led front office believed he would be there at 13. With Penix going at 8, the Broncos scuttled any plans to trade down and drafted Bo Nix — who visited the Raiders — at 12. This left the Raiders in the cold at QB, though they did do well to acquire Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate Brock Bowers in a best-player-available pick.

Bowers’ historic pace should bode well for Telesco’s standing within the building, but soon he will need to provide Brady with answers at quarterback. It will be quite interesting to find out who will hold the anvil when it comes to how the franchise proceeds here in 2025, but given Davis’ comments, it should not be expected Brady will encounter significant pushback if he voices a strong opinion about a near-future path.

Egon Durban, Michael Meldman Have Deals In Place To Purchase Raiders Stakes

December 7th, 2024 at 7:30pm CST by Adam La Rose

DECEMBER 7: Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes the Raiders deals will indeed be on the agenda at the upcoming league meeting. Full ratification could therefore take place soon.

NOVEMBER 21: Earlier in 2024, the deals allowing Tom Brady, Tom Wagner and Richard Seymour to purchase a total of 10.5% of the Raiders was approved. Agreements are now in place for two more minority owners to join the organization.

Silver Lake co-CEO and Endeavor board chairman Egon Durban has a deal with Raiders controlling Mark Davis, as first reported by Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal. Durban will be joined by Discovery Land Company founder and chairman Michael Meldman provided their purchases are formally approved. Each will acquire a 7.5% stake should the deals go through.

Davis will still maintain control of the organization in the event the Durban and Meldman purchases receive approval. At least 24 of the league’s 32 owners will need to give the deals the green light, something which could happen during the NFL’s special league meeting next month. The finance committee has already reviewed the terms of the agreements, Vic Tafur of The Athletic notes (subscription required). A recommendation for approval could pave the way to the ownership group at large finalizing the deals.

One potential issue on that front is the fact that Endeavor has a sports agency arm called WME Sports. Durban owns a stake in the company, which has (among other athletes) NFL players as its clientele. By rule, NFL owners cannot also represent players or coaches; as a result, Durban will need to divest from WME as a condition of his Raiders purchase being approved. Fischer reports Durban has given assurances to the NFL that such a move will take place within four months of the deal being going through.

“WME Sports’ football group continues to operate business as usual, and we are prepared for various scenarios as it relates to our football representation business, which is thriving,” a company statement reads. “Our priority remains creating growth and opportunity for our clients and partners.”

Durban and Meldman’s purchases will come in part from Davis’ equity in the Raiders, as well as from the Boscacci and Lovingfoss families, descendants of some of the franchise’s original investors. Full financial terms are not known, but Fischer reports the deals will check in at a “much higher price” than the ones Brady, Wagner and Seymour paid for their shares (which valued the franchise at $3.5 billion).

Mark Davis has been in place as the Raiders’ controlling owner since his father Al passed away in 2011. The 69-year-old is set to remain in his current capacity for the foreseeable future, but further additions to his ownership group could be coming soon.

Bigger Role In Vegas For Tom Brady In Future?

November 2nd, 2024 at 2:22pm CST by Ely Allen

As the NFL attempted to frame Tom Brady‘s partial-acquisition of the Raiders in a fair light, promises that his ownership role would be “passive” were plentiful. The same day that the deal went through, though, Raiders owner Mark Davis was already insinuating that Brady would have a role in selecting the team’s quarterback of the future. So, what exactly does the future hold for Brady in Sin City?

Currently, Brady faces several restrictions on his roles both as an owner and as an announcer. The two roles provide too many overlapping opportunities to create an unfair competitive environment. Those restrictions include an inability to go to other NFL team’s facilities, sit in on production meetings for FOX, or witness practices.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated is of the opinion that Brady’s innate competitiveness will likely keep him from remaining under those restrictions. In order to shed them, though, Brady will eventually have to make concessions, and odds don’t seem to favor his broadcasting gig. Luckily for the NFL, Brady’s competitiveness won’t be putting him on the field. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, in addition to agreeing to the aforementioned restrictions, Brady also promised not to unretire.

While Brady’s role as owner could increase in the future, there’s a possibility that his involvement in the partial sale was as a pawn in a larger plan. Per Breer, there’s a theory that Tom Wagner, Brady’s business partner who assisted in the collective purchase, could be part of the eventual succession plan for Davis as majority owner.

Unlike with some other franchise owner situations, Davis does not have children or siblings. In fact, his mother, Carol, is technically in possession of the ownership shares of the team. Should she pass away, costly estate taxes could make things difficult for Davis. Wagner, chairman of Birmingham City F.C. in the English Football League One, has experience with franchise ownership and is familiar with many other NFL team owners. He could be high on the list of possibilities to replace Davis after getting his foot in the door with the Brady-sale.

Brady’s involvement in the sale helped to facilitate a massive discount that made the purchase much easier for Wagner. While Brady’s role in team-building and game-planning may increase in the future as his competitive drive takes over, his involvement in the sale may just have been a small piece of a larger succession plan.

Mark Davis Prefers To Pair Davante Adams With Next Raiders QB

April 17th, 2024 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Earlier this afternoon, we looked into the situations surrounding the Raiders and Broncos’ paths to a quarterback upgrade in this draft. The Broncos are limited with draft capital, which has drawn speculation they could consider moving Patrick Surtain. The Raiders have a chip to dangle as well, if they so choose.

Tom Telesco said earlier this offseason he was not planning to make Davante Adams available in trades, but the All-Pro wide receiver has come up on a few occasions before. And he would make sense as an asset the Raiders could unload if they truly sought to move near the top of the draft.

Adams said from his youth football camp recently if he wanted to be gone he would indeed be out. While he is now 31 and on a Raiders team in transition, the former Packers star is viewed as a player Mark Davis wants to keep. Although Adams could potentially be used to help the Raiders add draft capital to then make a move up the board, the Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora notes Davis is believed to “strongly prefer” Adams be retained to pair with a young quarterback.

It is not yet known if the Raiders will come away from the draft with a passer positioned to eventually take over for Gardner Minshew, though Michael Penix Jr. is coming up as a potential Jayden Daniels consolation prize. A rookie-QB contract would also pair better with Adams’ $28MM-per-year accord compared to those of Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo.

Adams was among the players who stumped for Antonio Pierce this winter. Josh Jacobs joined him, though the former rushing champion is now gone. Three seasons remain on Adams’ contract, which contains a full guarantee for his 2024 base salary ($16.89MM). Beyond this year, no guarantees remain. That will make Adams easier to move, though the compensation the Raiders could acquire will stand to decrease as the veteran standout ages.

Accumulating draft capital would be the only benefit for the Raiders in an Adams trade; moving the 11th-year veteran would cost them $23.6MM in dead money while bringing back next to no cap savings. Of course, a long-term QB move would dwarf the importance of Adams on this year’s roster. Another Adams trade was once rumored to be likely this offseason, but as the draft nears, signs are pointing against the Raiders moving their top pass catcher.

Raiders Eyeing Bill Belichick?

January 6th, 2024 at 10:26pm CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like we can add another team to the list of potential Bill Belichick suitors. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Raiders are “hoping to get a chance to meet with Belichick” if he’s let go by New England.

The Raiders sourced their most recent head coaching hire from New England, although it led to disappointing results. Josh McDaniels didn’t last two seasons in Las Vegas, as he was ousted in late October after starting the season 3-5. The team also fired GM Dave Ziegler, who previously spent close to a decade in New England’s front office.

Belichick would obviously bring a lot more credibility to the role than his former offensive coordinator. However, you have to wonder if Mark Davis and co. would be so willing to hire a Patriots staffer following their recent failure.

The Raiders’ connections to the Patriots go beyond McDaniels and Ziegler. While the move still isn’t approved, Tom Brady is set to become a minority owner of the organization, and there are whispers that he’ll have a say in the team’s next coaching hire. Considering the reported tension between Brady and Belichick at the end of the quarterback’s Patriots tenure, it’d be an interesting development if the new part-owner is willing to recruit his former coach.

Interim head coach Antonio Pierce reportedly has the support of his locker room when it comes to earning the full-time job. However, as Russini notes, Davis has “always made it known” that he wants his Las Vegas franchise to be led by a star name. That’s a reason why Jim Harbaugh could also be a leading candidate for the gig.

Of course, it remains to be seen if Belichick will even leave New England. We learned last night that the potential divorce could take weeks to finalize, and at the very least, it sounds like the respected coach will avoid a Black Monday ouster. A drawn-out separation could limit Belichick’s ability to get a new job, so it’ll be interesting to see how teams like the Raiders navigate their HC search while juggling Belichick’s uncertainty.

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