Tom Brady purchased a 5% stake in the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023. He’s stayed out of the day-to-day team operations due to his minority ownership and broadcasting job with FOX Sports, but he has been more involved since new GM John Syptek was hired earlier this offseason.
Raiders GM Says Brady Was Involved With QB Evaluation Process, Brady Claims Otherwise
Brady is the GOAT of the NFL, winning seven Super Bowls and three MVPs in 23 seasons. He holds multiple career records, including most passing yards (89,214) and touchdowns (649). His first year as part-owner of the Raiders was quiet, but he’s come more into the spotlight after Spytek and new head coach Pete Carroll were hired.
In his introductory press conference, Carroll said, “We happen to have the greatest of all time to help us, and to see clearly, and we’re going to lean on Tom as much as we possibly can for his insights because nobody has the insights that he has. He’s that unique.”
This comment makes it seem like Brady was involved in trading for quarterback Geno Smith. The Raiders gave up a third-round pick for Smith and essentially took themselves out of the quarterback market heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.
Las Vegas didn’t select a quarterback until the sixth round (the same round that Brady was drafted in during the 2000 NFL Draft), and took North Dakota State’s Cam Miller. Smith and Miller both got Brady’s approval, according to a recent interview with Spytek for The Athletic.
Dan Pompei wrote, “When the Raiders were vetting quarterbacks, [Brady] came to Las Vegas for a few days. He met with Spytek and coaches to discuss the veteran possibilities. He spent another day with Spytek discussing college quarterback prospects. “When we are looking at quarterbacks, we’d have to be fools not to involve him,” Spytek says. “Tom is the foremost expert on quarterback play I’ve ever been around.”
“Of course, Raiders coach Pete Carroll was a driving force in the trade for Carroll’s former quarterback Geno Smith. But Brady endorsed the move. “He really respected Geno — the way he can process and throw the football,” Spytek says.
“During the draft, Brady stayed away but was in constant communication and was on board with the selection of quarterback Cam Miller in the sixth round. ‘He liked the way he threw it, his technique, throwing from the ground up and his motion,’ Spytek says. ‘And he thought he had the potential to improve.'”
Syptek was ecstatic talking about Brady’s involvement in the team’s pre-draft process, but that notion contradicts what Brady said on a recent “Impaulsive” podcast appearance. “I wasn’t part of any evaluation process,” the future Hall of Famer claims, but that doesn’t appear to be 100% true given Spytek’s comments and other reports.
Brady wants to keep a low profile as a Raiders part-owner, but it would be foolish for the team not to ask his opinion when looking for a quarterback. Hopefully for Raiders fans, the GOAT is just as good of an evaluator as he was a player.