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Las Vegas Raiders team owner Mark Davis responded Sunday to UFC president Dana White’s story about nearly executing a plan to bring Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to Sin City before it was nixed.
White said during a special ESPN broadcast of UFC 278 with the Gronkowski family that former head coach Jon Gruden did not accept the plan and the whole deal was nixed. Brady was a free agent at the time, determining where he should play next and Gronkowski was "retired."
Davis reacted in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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Tom Brady poses for a photo with UFC president Dana White during the UFC 246 event at T-Mobile Arena on January 18, 2020 in Las Vegas. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
"I heard about [White’s comments]. That was what — two to three years ago or something? I don’t know, man. Talk to Dana. I remember that Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay. That’s basically what I remember. I have no idea. Dana has the stories. I love Dana. He is a great, great promoter. Why would this make me upset? I was busy watching [the Raiders beat Miami 15-13] and the basketball game," Davis told the newspaper.
Brady was rumored to have drawn interest from the Raiders and New Orleans Saints while he was a free agent but ended up joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Raiders had Derek Carr as their starting quarterback and the Saints had Drew Brees, who was about to play one final season.
"I worked to put that deal together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders. And it was almost a done deal. And at the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn’t want [Brady]," White said. "And all hell broke loose, man. It was crazy and Brady was already looking at houses, and it wasn’t being said yet that Gronk was coming. So Las Vegas would have had Brady and Gronk the year that the Bucs won the Super Bowl, except Gruden blew the deal up."
Mark Davis of the Las Vegas Raiders looks on before the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on October 17, 2021 in Denver. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Gronkowski said he was happy it did not work out and was happy to get traded to the Buccaneers from the New England Patriots and come out of retirement. The Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in 2020. Gruden resigned from the Raiders after emails were leaked showing the coach used homophobic and misogynistic language in 2011.
The Miami Dolphins also had plans to pursue Brady and Saints coach Sean Payton. The NFL found Dolphins team owner Stephen Ross had "impermissible communications" with Brady and Payton.
Tom Brady, #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, gives a thumbs up in the third quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on October 25, 2020 in Las Vegas. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The Boston Globe and Pro Football Talk reported earlier this year there was a master plan to make Brady a high-ranking team executive when he stepped away from the Buccaneers in February and pursue his contractual rights from Tampa Bay and later lure him out of retirement. The team also had plans to make Payton their head coach when he stepped away from the Saints, according to the reports.
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However, the plan was seemingly shut down as Brian Flores launched his lawsuit against the Dolphins on the same day Brady’s announcement came out. Brady would return in March.
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