Brady's Part-Time Involvement with the Las Vegas Raiders: A Chaotic Situation

Tom Brady dedicated 23 NFL seasons to a singular mission: becoming the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He achieved that goal. Today, in his post-playing career, Brady has ventured into numerous pursuits. He serves as a broadcaster for Fox. He's engaged in development ventures in the UK. He has endorsed digital assets. He's spreading the NFL to the Middle East. He maintains a popular YouTube channel. He replicated his family pet. Brady's retirement ventures appear either diverse or unfocused, based on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are one thing. But managing a professional franchise is hardly a casual commitment. Alongside his various responsibilities, Brady functions as the unofficial decision-maker for the Las Vegas franchise, currently the least successful team in the NFL.

The Raiders dropped to 2–9 on Sunday after suffering a 24-10 defeat to the Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were embarrassed by a struggling team with a QB making his first NFL start. The Raiders' offense averaged less than three yards per play before garbage-time plays in the final period. Geno Smith was sacked 10 times and faced pressure 46 times, a single-game high for any team this year. On defense, Las Vegas surrendered big plays to a Cleveland offense that has been ineffective for most of the season. However you analyze it, it was a thorough domination. At least Brady didn't have to watch. The primary decision-maker of this latest Vegas mess was sitting in Dallas on the network coverage for Eagles-Cowboys.

A Series of Dubious Choices

In fairness to Brady, he has only been involved for a year guiding the team's personnel choices, becoming a partial stakeholder of the franchise in 2024. But he was accountable for every major decision last summer, and all of them has backfired. Those decisions have resulted in the Raiders as the most unwatchable and directionless franchise in the NFL.

This wasn't supposed to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't hire 74-year-old Pete Carroll, one of only three coaches to win both a championship and a college national championship, to oversee a long slog back up the standings. He was supposed to restore the team to competitiveness and then hand them off with a stable base in place. Conversely, Carroll is staring at the prospect of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another reboot.

Franchise Turmoil

This is not all Brady's fault, of course. The majority owner is still the majority owner. Davis has cycled through coaches and executives at a rate that would make even the New York Jets blush. The Raiders are on their seventh head coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a instability that has erased any clear strategic direction. Still, it's Brady's fingerprints that are all over this iteration of the Raiders. "This is the Tom Brady show," league reporter a prominent journalist said last summer. "He's been deeply engaged," Carroll said of Brady at his first press conference in January. "This is his opportunity to leave his mark on a franchise."

Brady was responsible for the crucial appointments and placed the Raiders on this rudderless course. He hired a close associate, his college buddy and colleague in Tampa, to act as GM. He approved a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including trading a third-round pick for Geno Smith and drafting a running back No 6 overall despite having a poor-performing O-line. He recruited an offensive innovator away from the college ranks, making him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the NFL. And he signed off on handing a flaky offensive line – the foundation for that coach and ball carrier – to Carroll's son.

Disastrous Results

It has become a disaster. Last season's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were competitive and resilient. The current Raiders are a confused mess. Carroll has implemented an outdated defensive scheme, the quarterback looks washed and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any hopes for Ashton Jeanty and the run game. At the very least, Carroll was supposed to bring enthusiasm. But the Raiders were lifeless on Sunday, counting down the snaps to the end of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was pronounced. Things are always bleak with the Browns, but there are glimmers of optimism. Myles Garrett, now just five sacks away from the league single-season record, leads a formidable defense. And there is optimism around the impressive rookie class that includes multiple promising talents – a dynamic runner at RB and a skilled defender at linebacker. There is also the rookie QB, who may not be the permanent solution at quarterback, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.

Admittedly, it was against the Raiders' defense, but Sanders showed that the stage was not too big for him. With a full week to get ready, he was solid, taking what the defense gave him and displaying flashes of improvisation. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his debut game since 1995.

Lack of Vision

The rookie quarterback and his classmates of the Browns' first-year players represent promise. That's a mirror the Raiders don't want to look into. Successful franchises recognize their situation in the league hierarchy: you're either a championship candidate, a frisky playoff team, or undergoing reconstruction. Vegas entered 2025 believing they were a couple of moves away from competitiveness. Despite the clear indications to the contrary, they haven't pivoted midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be throwing out young players to discover what they have for the coming years. But only two first-year players have seen significant action. There has apparently already been disagreement between the coaches and the front office regarding the lack of action for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the offensive line being a sieve. First-year pass catchers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr have totaled nine catches in 11 games, despite the ineffectiveness in the aerial attack. Carroll continues to utilize experienced veterans on defense over rookies in need of experience.

Unclear Future

Where is the future direction? Will the coach return or the GM or Smith? And who truly decides those choices, Brady or Davis? How can a team function when its most powerful decision-maker participates sporadically, signs off major organizational decisions, and then disappears on other projects?

It will prove a struggle for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a division stacked with perennial playoff contenders. At the same time, other rebuilders have clear trajectories. The Jets are loaded with upcoming selections. The Titans and Giants have talented young QBs. The Raiders have little to build upon. No core. No franchise QB. No distinctive style. No strategic vision.

The only thing more dangerous than being bad in the NFL is not recognizing you're bad. The Raiders lack clarity on where they are, what they are developing, or who will call the shots in the summer.

Tom Brady once excelled at football through ruthless focus. The Raiders could benefit from more than an hour of it.