Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl winner, is reportedly in talks to become a limited partner with the Las Vegas Raiders, potentially marking his second foray into Las Vegas professional sports, just months after he purchased a stake with the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces. The deal is expected to give Brady only a minority stake in the team, and it needs approval from at least 24 NFL team owners. Brady has been in talks with Raiders management for multiple weeks, anonymous sources told ESPN.
Brady, who made $83.9 million in annual earnings last year, split between $31.9 million on the field and $52 million in off-field endorsement deals, is also facing off-field struggles, including a lawsuit over failed crypto company FTX. Brady and his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen had been major equity holders in the now-bankrupt crypto firm, and Brady's stake in the collapsed firm is estimated to be worth $45 million, while Bundchen's stake has been pegged at $25 million. Brady was also listed in a class-action lawsuit against FTX's disgraced former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, alleging that Brady, along with a group of celebrities including Bundchen and Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, put their names behind the firm and were "responsible for the many billions of dollars in damages they caused."
Brady, widely believed to be the NFL's greatest player of all time, has faced multiple controversies since announcing his first retirement from football. Brady was selected by the New England Patriots as the 199th overall pick in the 2000 draft, and served as the team's back-up quarterback for more than a year before taking over the reins from veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe, following an injury. In his first season as starting quarterback, Brady led the Patriots to the team's first Super Bowl championship. He went on to win five more championships with the Patriots over 20 seasons with the team. Brady left the Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of the 2020 season, where he won another Super Bowl, before initially retiring from the league in February 2022. He came out of retirement weeks later and rejoined the Buccaneers for one more season, losing in the first round of the playoffs. The five-time Super Bowl MVP retired again in February, after 23 years in the NFL, saying in a video message his retirement was "for good."