Aug 13, 2026; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Tom Brady (left) talks with Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Is Tom Brady Going to Hurt the Raiders?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Tyler Bischoff | Last updated Aug 23, 2026 2:22 PM ET

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Tom Brady is a minority owner with the Raiders, but operates as majority owner Mark Davis’ right-hand man. But Brady’s presence could be damaging to the Raiders.

Mike Florio shared on his podcast PFT Live that another NFL team thinks Brady is going to ruin the Raiders.

“I basically got a tongue in cheek request from another team,” Florio said. “Stop talking about the Brady stuff. Stop talking about it. Why? He’s not going to make him any better, as long as he’s doing all this other s***. So, let him, let him keep doing what he’s doing. Let him think, let him think that he’s in a position to turn this thing around, because he’s not.”

Brady is being paid $37.5 million to be the lead analyst for Fox’s NFL coverage. Every weekend, Brady is not attending Raiders’ games, instead he is calling Fox’s biggest matchup.

But even during the offseason, Brady isn’t always around. During the NFL combine, as the Raiders front office was meeting with Fernando Mendoza, Brady wasn’t present. He did talk to Mendoza via a FaceTime call for a few minutes.

Brady’s lack of commitment to the Raiders leads to questions about how much he can actually help the organization.

“Are teams afraid of Tom Brady helping the Raiders turn it around? They are not,” Florio said.

But Raiders owner Mark Davis is hoping Brady’s extensive playing career will translate to running a football team.

Brady’s Role

One of the issues with evaluating the Raiders’ front office and Brady is the murkiness surrounding decision making. It isn’t clear who is making which decisions.

Brady was reportedly pushing to hire Ben Johnson and trade for Matt Stafford last offseason, but the Raiders failed to do either. Instead they pivoted to Pete Carroll and Geno Smith. Were those simply Brady’s second choices?

The Athletic reported that Brady was behind the hiring of offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, which turned out to be a complete disaster.

But it is still unsure how much power Brady has. It might simply be as much power as he wants.

“Brady is such a fascinating guy right now, because he kind of answers to no one,” ESPN’s Seth Wickersham told Awful Announcing. “He gets to do what he wants. I think that he can have as much influence of that team as he wants to. I do think there’s a difference. Even though he’s an owner, obviously, he has a lot of philosophies and a foundation of how a team should be run. I think if you’re gonna do that, you have to be there a lot.”

But Brady is not actually around every day to help the Raiders. If Davis allows Brady to have final say whenever Brady wants to, but doesn’t require Brady to be in the building on a regular basis, it is clear why other NFL teams would not fear the former quarterback’s role with Las Vegas.

Regardless of who was actually in control, the Raiders 2025 offseason was a mess. With Brady and Spytek both needing their 2026 offseason to show they can run an organization competently.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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