Tom Brady's bid to own part of the Raiders will be considered by NFL owners

The transaction, which has been pending before the NFL Finance Committee since last year, must be approved by at least 24 of the 32 owners. If that happens Tuesday, Brady will join the NFL's ownership ranks at 47, more than 20 months after ending a playing career that included seven Super Bowl victories. And he will do so in his first season serving as the lead analyst on Fox's NFL game broadcasts.

Brady and Tom Wagner, co-founders of Knighthead Capital Management, are believed to be trying to buy about 10 percent of Ryder. The sale price is not known, but was an important issue for the finance committee during the approval process.

Brady is not expected to have an active role in the Raiders' day-to-day operations. His ownership status would effectively end any notion of him returning to the field for a team with championship aspirations. Under NFL rules, any employee of a team who is not a family member of the owner is prohibited from owning a stake in the franchise.

This is not the first sports ownership partnership between Brady and Mark Davis, principal owner of the Raiders. Brady became a part owner of the Las Vegas Aces, a WNBA franchise owned by Davis.

Ryder is worth an estimated $7.8 billion, according to a 2024 team valuation by CNBC. That makes them the fifth-most valuable franchise in the NFL behind the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and New York Giants. The Cowboys led the CNBC valuation with an estimated value of $11 billion.

Individuals who purchase limited ownership shares in a sports franchise typically do not pay the full price for their minority stake based on an applicable percentage of the team's overall value. This is because they have little say in the operations of the franchisee and are generally not offered a path to majority ownership.

Even so, the Finance Committee raised objections last year to the exemption Davis had planned to give Brady. Some owners also had concerns about conflicts arising from Brady's dual role as a minority owner of a team and broadcaster for Fox, people familiar with the situation said at the time.

Brady and Wagner agreed to put more money into the deal, and it recently became clear that the transaction was moving toward a ratification vote by the owners, three people with knowledge of the negotiations said this month. Owners generally want to see the deal ratified, as long as Brady isn't being offered too much, because they recognize Brady's status and think he's good for the league, one of the people said. Some owners still wanted to pay Brady more, but the current deal is for much more money than originally proposed, another person said.

Brady is not expected to be on hand for the potential ratification vote. He was in Arlington, Tex., on Sunday for the Detroit Lions' lopsided win over the Cowboys for Fox.

He is working at his Fox job under several restrictions imposed by the NFL based on some owners' concerns about his dual role. Brady is prohibited from participating in broadcast production meetings with the team and from being at team facilities for practices or other activities. He is subject to discipline by the NFL for criticizing his on-air comments officiating or violating the league's tampering rules. The NFL is taking a “practical” approach to enforcing the rules regarding Brady's on-air comments, a person familiar with the situation said earlier.

The league notified owners of the restrictions on Brady during a special league meeting in August, where owners allowed investment in the franchise by private equity.

Brady announced his second retirement as a player in February 2023, saying it would be “for good” this time. He won six Super Bowl titles with the Patriots and another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is estimated to have earned over $300 million in salary during his NFL career. His Fox deal is reportedly worth $375 million over 10 years.

The owners are expected to award Super Bowl LXII to Atlanta in 2028. This will be the fourth Super Bowl in Atlanta and the second held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The next three Super Bowls will be played in New Orleans later this season; in Santa Clara, California, in 2026; and in 2027 in Inglewood, California.