When the “Monday Night Football” cameras showed Tom Brady in the Las Vegas Raiders coaches’ booth donning a headset, with reports that he lends his expertise to the staff, all of New England had the same thought: Damn, wouldn’t it be cool if he were doing that for the Patriots?
Of course, Brady has been under scrutiny in recent weeks because of his role as a minority owner of the Raiders, possibly serving as a conflict of interest as a broadcaster. While that’s debatable, one thing isn’t: Patriots fans wish that controversy was going on with Brady as a minority owner of their franchise — the one he helped win six Super Bowl titles.
With the news coming out Thursday that Robert Kraft has agreed to sell an 8% stake of the Patriots to a pair of investors, it’s fair to ask that question.
If they are going to sell a slice of the team, why wouldn’t Kraft have tried to bring Brady in before he made his bid to own a piece of Las Vegas? It’s hard to imagine Kraft decided to sell 8% of his team overnight, and Brady’s purchase of his stake in the Raiders was only approved last October. Wouldn’t it have made sense to loop the franchise icon, who currently has his number retired and a statue standing outside Gillette Stadium, instead of largely faceless investors?
Tom Brady’s partial purchase of the Raiders
It’s worth examining Brady’s pursuit and eventual purchase of a slice of the Raiders to better contextualize this situation surrounding the Patriots sale. Back in 2023, Brady’s group entered into an agreement to buy a 10% stake in the Raiders from majority owner Mark Davis. At the time, there was criticism from some in the league that Brady was getting a massive discount. By the time the NFL owners approved the deal in October, Brady secured 5% of the franchise while his partners received the other 5%. As the Sports Business Journal reported at the time, the valuation came in at $3.5 billion. Yet Brady and his partners paid even less than the $350 million for a 10% share at that low valuation, shelling out a reported $244 million.
What 8% of the Patriots is worth
With those numbers from Brady’s purchase in mind, let’s look at what 8% of the Patriots is worth. Even if we stick with the $9 billion valuation (and reports suggest it exceeds this number), that slice would be worth $720 million. That’s nearly three times the amount Brady and his group paid for the Raiders.
That stake is split between two investors, billionaire Dean Metropoulos (5%) and Sixth Street Partners (3%). That smaller piece of the team purchased by Sixth Street Partners comes in at $270 million. While that $270 million gets into the ballpark of what Brady’s group paid for their piece of the Raiders, it comes as a much smaller percentage. Brady alone owns 5% of the Raiders franchise, which may not sound like much, but is a massive difference.
Should Kraft have sold a piece of the Patriots to Brady?
From a business standpoint, Kraft did the right thing in this instance. He bought the team back in 1994 for $127 million. By selling less than 10% of the team and maintaining full control of the organization, Kraft pocketed roughly $720 million — nearly six times what he originally paid for the entire franchise.
On Brady’s part, the Raiders purchase made more sense than if he had been allowed to buy the 3% of the Patriots. He has more stake in the Las Vegas football franchise at a cheaper rate. From a business perspective, both parties made savvy moves.
From a sheer nostalgic standpoint, it would make more sense for Brady to be immersed with the Patriots. Under these current circumstances, Brady is the opposition. For instance, as a minority owner of the Raiders, Brady was rooting against New England in Week 1 when it hosted Las Vegas. That just feels wrong.
From a football standpoint, there’s an argument to be made that having Brady’s knowledge as a resource for the organization would’ve been invaluable, particularly as New England has struggled mightily since his departure following the 2019 season. In the five full seasons since Brady left (2020-2024), the Patriots are 33-51 and have missed the playoffs four times. They are also currently on their third head coach in as many seasons, so his guidance would’ve been welcomed. Instead, he’s implementing his football knowledge with the Raiders, which again just feels odd.