Report: Raiders Owner Mark Davis Reveals Jon Gruden And Mike Mayock Blocked Tom Brady Signing In 2020

However, they missed the chance to win a championship because that year Tampa Bay Buccaneers offered the then-40-year-old quarterback a deal, and he led them to take the Super Bowl home.

The regret still itches them hard, which probably made the Raiders owner recall the moment. If they had signed him, it’s very likely they could have won the title.

Mark Davis Confirms Tom Brady Almost Became Raiders in 2020

Davis went on the record during a recent episode of “Raiders: Talk of the Nation,” spilling details about how the near miss became a striking distance when the 48-year-old was a free agent.

Only a handful of teams were considering signing him because of his age. Raiders were among them, and Davis revealed the franchise was ready to pull the trigger on.

“[Tom Brady] was supposed to be here in 2020,” Davis said in the podcast. “That’s when our relationship started, in 2020, when he was a free agent and we talked about him coming here to play quarterback.”

He emphasized that the quarterback was close to wanting to come here, suggesting the negotiations reached a serious level before falling apart. The owner was on the “yes” side, but the bus with the coaching staff he sent actually killed the deal instead of making it. 

Head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock actually “wanted to go in a different direction” instead of pursuing the future Hall of Famer. They wanted to stick with Derek Carr, which ultimately got spicy on their championship run.

“Obviously it was a tough decision for him, and he was close to wanting to come here, but the head coach and general manager decided they wanted to go in a different direction. So we didn’t sign him,” Davis explained.

So, when folks remember Brady’s infamous HBO comment where he asked about a team “sticking with that motherf*****,” many now believe he was referring to the Raiders.

ESPN Analyst Thinks Tom Brady Isn’t the Generational QB Everyone Claims

Clark doesn’t believe the seven-time Super Bowl champion was a generational talent, but Arch Manning is a generational talent to him. And that’s enough to send fans going crazy over the idea.

This is an elite category of football, so he had to explain his reason for taking such a critical stance. “I think John Elway was a generational talent. I think Patrick Mahomes is a generational talent,” Clark told Dan Orlovsky and Stephen A. Smith during the ESPN segment.

“I don’t think Tom Brady, I don’t think Drew Brees, and I don’t think Peyton Manning are generational talents. I think Andrew Luck ended up being a generational talent; I don’t think there are a ton of them out there,” Clark continued, apparently forgetting that Luck retired early while Brady played until age 45 and won seven titles.

Not surprisingly, he was universally roasted, but the problem is, we really don’t know what “generational talent” means to him. The definition can vary from expert to expert, but if Brady and Peyton fit in the mold, then quarterback also requires a new interpretation.