NFL Rumors: Richard Seymour Finalizing Deal to Join Tom Brady as Raiders Part-Owner

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVJuly 9, 2024

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Tom Brady reporetdly has a new partner in his quest to become a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, “Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Hall of Fame defensive lineman Richard Seymour is close to finalizing a deal to become an owner and limited partner of the Raiders.”

Per that report, current team owner Mark Davis initiated the effort to involve Seymour in Brady’s bid to become a partial owner.

Seymour, 44, finished his Hall of Fame career with the Raiders, playing for the team between the 2009-12 seasons. Prior to that, he was Brady’s teammate on the New England Patriots.

Brady, Seymour and their other partners would own a 10.4 percent ownership stake if the other NFL owners approve the transaction.

Daniel Kaplan @KaplanSportsBizRemember, existing raiders, Limited partners have right a first refusal to buy any shares sold by ownership, one wrinkle in the brady and now Seymour too purchase https://t.co/o98558Ft2c

That bid has been rebuffed up to this point, with owners abstaining from voting at the May’s league meetings. One major sticking point up until now has been Davis’ plan to offer Brady a discounted rate for a stake in the team, fearing it would negatively impact the franchise’s overall valuation.

“The number just has to be a reasonable number for purchase price from Tom, is the only thing,” Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay told reporters back in October. “If reasonable value says… that 10 percent should be $525 million, you can’t pay $175 million.”

Florio reported that Seymour’s involvement “is expected to resolve most of the concerns about Brady’s bid.”

An unrelated concern to Seymour is the conflict of interest in Brady both being directly involved with an NFL team and also being an announcer for Fox Sports starting this season. Generally, announcers are granted some level of inside access to teams as they do their preparations for the week. Would it be fair for Brady—who would directly benefit from the Raiders succeeding if he was a partial owner of the team—to have inside access to other organizations and relaying that information back to Las Vegas?

Florio noted that it’s “believed that parameters have been developed to address the issues that would arise from Brady, as an owner of the Raiders, being involved in meetings and attending practices involving teams that compete with the Raiders.”

But it’s hard to imagine other coaches and players being thrilled by that setup, regardless of those parameters.