ESPN reported on Sunday that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, arguably one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, could soon be headed to play football in the desert.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, “The Raiders are poised to pursue quarterback Tom Brady if he doesn’t re-sign with the Patriots before free agency begins, league sources told ESPN.”
“Whether the Raiders can lure Brady to Las Vegas, as their quarterback and biggest draw, remains uncertain,” ESPN added. “Patriots owner Robert Kraft has expressed how much he wants Brady to return to New England, and there will be more talks with the team before the free-agent period.”
Schefter said that Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is a long-time fan of Brady, and noted that adding Brady to the roster would be a huge move to legitimize the team as they move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
“Brady, 42, visited Las Vegas last month for UFC 246 and crossed paths with Raiders owner Mark Davis,” ESPN continued. “Photos of Brady and Davis together generated predictable buzz on social media, highlighting how Brady’s future is not just arguably the biggest story of the upcoming NFL offseason, but perhaps in all of sports.”
ESPN noted that a revised contract that Brady signed with the Patriots in August prevents the team from sticking him with the franchise tag, which enables Brady to have more control over the remainder of his NFL career.
Brady tweeted out a photograph of himself, his head coach, and other notable Patriots players on Sunday at the Super Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Pats Nation ❤️ pic.twitter.com/bcUThqGsGF
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) February 2, 2020
The New England Patriots outlined just a few of Brady’s career highlights in their biography of him:
- Brady is an 18-time Patriots team captain, elected to the position by his teammates every season since 2002.
- Three-time NFL MVP (2007, 2010 & 2017), tied with Jim Brown, Brett Favre and Johnny Unitas for second-most all-time to Peyton Manning’s five.
- Brady won his third career NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 2017, becoming the oldest player in NFL history to win the award at age 40.
- Brady’s 239 career wins combined in the regular season and playoffs are the most all time by an NFL player. He surpassed Peyton Manning (200) in New England’s win vs. L.A. Rams (12/4/16) to become the NFL’s all-time winningest quarterback.
- His 209 regular-season wins are also most in NFL history. He passed Brett Favre and Peyton Manning with his 187th career regular-season win in the victory at N.Y. Jets (10/15/17).
- Brady’s 116 career regular-season wins at home and 93 victories on the road are also NFL records.
- Brady is the first quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to six Super Bowl wins, surpassing Terry Bradshaw (4) and Joe Montana (4).
- The Patriots have qualified for 11 Super Bowls in franchise history, nine with Brady at the helm. His nine Super Bowl appearances are more than Dallas (8), Denver (8) and Pittsburgh (8) have played in during the Super Bowl era.
Brady was drafted in the sixth round of the NFL draft, 199th overall, in 2000 and has spent his entire career with the Patriots.