Rumors of Tom Brady returning to playing football have persisted for the past few years in part because he won’t shut them down completely. After all, the GOAT did come out of retirement once already.
But once his dream of owning part of an NFL team becomes reality, any dream of playing football will be dead again.
Multiple league sources tell CBS Sports that if and after Brady is approved as part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, he will not be allowed to play for an NFL team — including the Raiders.
This is a change in the attitude of the league in the spring of 2023 when the NFL confirmed that Brady could own part of the Raiders and play for them if three-quarters of the team owners agreed to it. Now, such a vote would not even happen, sources say.
That’s because of a July 2023 rule change to league ownership policy that was recommended by the NFL’s finance committee, which ultimately ownership passed. The rule prohibited employees who are not family members of the owner of the team to own equity in a team.
Brady, or any other player, would be considered an employee under this rule, sources said. The NFL declined comment on individual cases.
The rule resolved “that the membership approves and adopts the policy statement of the Finance Committee regarding club equity transactions involving club employees who are neither a Principal Owner nor a member of the Principal Owner’s family,” according to a document obtained by CBS Sports.
The Sports Business Journal first reported the rule change when it happened.
Brady first reached an agreement with Raiders owner Mark Davis to buy part of the team in May 2023. Approval was in the hands of the league’s finance committee later, with several teams disputing the Raiders’ valuation. Those issues appear to have been resolved, and Brady could be approved at the October or December league meetings.
Brady, today entering his third game as a broadcaster for FOX, owns a minority stake in the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, which are also primarily owned by Davis. He also has a minority stake in the English football team Birmingham City.
Brady first retired in February 2022, only to not retire a month later and return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On February 1, 2023, Brady retired “for good,” he said at the time.
On several occasions later, Brady wouldn’t quite slam the door on a second retirement. In an April podcast, he acknowledged the possibility of a comeback — as well as potential problems with it.
“I’m not against it,” Brady said on the “Deep Cut” Podcast.. “I don’t know if they’ll let me if I become an NFL team owner. But I don’t know if — I don’t know. I’ll always be in good shape, always be able to throw the ball. So, to get in a little bit, like MJ [Michael Jordan] come back? I don’t know if they would let me, but I wouldn’t be against it.”
The NFL rules would be against it though. The league made the change as the professional sports landscape began to change. Lionel Messi received a piece from Inter Miami as part of his deal to come to Major League Soccer. Aaron Rodgers and Caleb Williams reportedly inquired about stock cuts before finally signing standard contracts.
In passing the rule, NFL owners cited several reasons why it was necessary to avoid giving employees pieces of the team. Issues such as what happens to the equity if the employee goes to another team, or potential salary caps have all been raised as reasons to ban the practice.
“There’s never a bad time for owners to close the door on someone trying to have greater leverage than them,” said one senior NFL team source.
There have always been rules against one individual being an employee of several teams. Even before this rule, Brady would never have been able to own part of the Raiders and then play for another team.
In addition, league sources tell CBS Sports that the NFL has braced itself for a potential loophole now that private equity firms are allowed to own pieces of teams. Sources say an NFL employee cannot be part of a private equity firm that then buys a minority stake in an NFL team.
This summer, the league approved a rule that allows team owners to sell up to 10% of their team to select private equity firms.
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