Tom Brady opens up on role as Raiders minority owner

Tom Brady’s influence on the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason has been undeniable.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion and undisputed first-ballot Hall of Famer is now making an impact in the front office similar to the one he left on the field. When he joined a group of shareholders to gain a minority state in the Raiders in October, the organization was excited to add someone with Brady’s football acumen to their ranks. It was expected, once Brady’s duties as a broadcast analyst with Fox were complete for the season, that he would assist the Raiders with some on-field decisions.

Brady has now discussed what his role with the Raiders has been like.

Brady is willing to offer his opinion, but the scope of his power is limited.

In an interview with Raiders columnist Paul Gutierrez, Brady clarified that, despite his influence in the football sphere, that he is not the one who ultimately makes the final call.

“Well, I’m just a limited partner, so [principal owner] Mark [Davis]’s the boss,” Brady said. “And then [head coach] Pete [Carroll] does his job and [general manager John] Spy[tek] does his job and, I think, we trust them to make the right decisions.

“I’m there as a great sounding board for anything they want to do.”

While it is great to see Brady not micromanaging and allowing his people to make the right decisions, his influence on the Raiders is unquestionable.

The hirings of both Carroll and Spytek were largely thanks to Brady’s work as a pitchman. He was also responsible for signing off on the trade with the Seattle Seahawks for quarterback Geno Smith in March, as well as selecting North Dakota State signal-caller Cam Miller in the sixth round of April’s NFL Draft. The decisions made this offseason by Brady and the Raiders have played a significant role in the hype the team is getting.

However, Brady knows none of these changes matter until the calendar flips to September and the games start counting.

“They’ve worked together very well, and there’s a lot of decisions that are made,” Brady said. “Winning games in September starts with what happens in February, March and April, when no one’s really watching. They’ve been hard at work.

“And our goal is to, you know, win a lot of football games. You’ve got to work hard at it, and it’s all earned and we’ve got a tough division. There’s a lot of good opponents we face. But it’s going to be up to the guys and their daily commitment to doing the right things.”

Hopefully Brady is a catalyst for leading the Raiders to a new era of greatness.