Tom Brady's Side Involvement with the Las Vegas Raiders: A Chaotic Situation

Tom Brady dedicated over two decades to a singular objective: establishing himself as the most accomplished QB in NFL history. He accomplished that goal. Now, in his post-playing career, Brady has explored numerous endeavors. He serves as a broadcaster for a major network. He's involved in construction projects in the UK. He has endorsed cryptocurrency. He's expanding American football to Saudi Arabia. He maintains a popular YouTube channel. He replicated his family pet. Brady's post-career activities appear either diverse or unfocused, depending on your perspective.

Secondary ventures are one thing. But managing a NFL team is not a casual commitment. Alongside his other roles, Brady also serves as the unofficial football leader for the Las Vegas franchise, currently the least successful team in the league.

The Raiders fell to 2–9 on Sunday after enduring a decisive loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders didn't just lose; they were humiliated by a struggling team with a quarterback making his professional debut. The Raiders' offensive unit averaged less than three yards per play before garbage-time plays in the fourth quarter. Their quarterback was tackled 10 times and was pressured 46 times, a single-game high for any team this season. On defense, Las Vegas surrendered significant gains to a Cleveland offense that has been ineffective for most of the campaign. Any way you slice it, it was a comprehensive beatdown. Fortunately Brady didn't have to watch. The architect of this current situation was working in Dallas on the Fox broadcast for another game.

A Collection of Dubious Decisions

In fairness to Brady, he has only been involved for a year guiding the team's football decisions, becoming a partial stakeholder of the organization in 2024. But he was responsible for every significant move last offseason, and each one has proven unsuccessful. Those moves have left the Raiders as the least entertaining and aimless franchise in the NFL.

This wasn't expected to be a multi-year rebuild. The Raiders didn't hire 74-year-old Pete Carroll, among a select group to win both a championship and a NCAA title, to manage a long slog back up the league table. He was supposed to return the team to competitiveness and then hand them off with a solid foundation in place. Instead, Carroll is facing the prospect of being fired after one season in Vegas, and the Raiders are looking at another restart.

Franchise Turmoil

This is not all Brady's fault, naturally. Mark Davis is still the majority owner. Davis has cycled through head coaches and executives at a rate that would make even the Jets feel embarrassed. The Raiders are on their seventh head coach and fifth general manager in 15 years, a turnover rate that has eliminated any clear strategic direction. Still, it's Brady's fingerprints that are evident throughout this version of the Raiders. "This is the Brady's project," league reporter a prominent journalist commented last summer. "He's been deeply engaged," Carroll said of Brady at his introductory news conference in January. "This is his opportunity to put his stamp on a franchise."

Brady made the key hires and set the Raiders on this rudderless course. He appointed John Spytek, his former teammate and colleague in Tampa, to serve as general manager. He greenlit a team strategy to the coach's specifications, including trading a draft selection for Smith and drafting a running back with the sixth pick despite having a poor-performing O-line. He recruited Chip Kelly away from the NCAA, making him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the NFL. And he signed off on entrusting a flaky blocking unit – the bedrock for that coordinator and running back – to the coach's family member.

Disastrous Results

It's been a complete failure. Last season's Raiders were a four-win team, but they were competitive and resilient. This year's Raiders are a disorganized situation. Carroll has implemented an outdated defensive scheme, the quarterback looks past his prime and the Raiders' blocking unit has undermined any hopes for Ashton Jeanty and the ground attack. If nothing else, Carroll was expected to bring energy. But the Raiders were uninspired on Sunday, waiting for the plays to the conclusion of the game.

The contrast with Cleveland was pronounced. The situation often seems dire with the Browns, but there are embers of hope. Their star defender, now just five sacks away from the league all-time mark, leads a dominant defensive unit. And there is optimism around the impressive first-year players that includes two potential stars – a dynamic runner at running back and Carson Schwesinger at LB. There is also Shedeur Sanders, who may not be the permanent solution at QB, but who is a viable option in the immediate future.

Granted, it was facing the Raiders' defensive unit, but Sanders demonstrated that the NFL level was not too big for him. With a complete preparation period to get ready, he was solid, accepting what the opposition gave him and showing flashes of creativity. Sanders became the first Browns rookie quarterback to win his first start since 1995.

Absence of Direction

Sanders and the rest of the Browns' first-year players symbolize promise. That's a mirror the Raiders don't want to look into. Successful franchises understand their position in the league hierarchy: you're either a contender, a frisky playoff team, or rebuilding. Vegas entered 2025 believing they were a couple of moves away from competitiveness. In spite of the clear indications otherwise, they haven't pivoted midstream. Like Cleveland, Vegas should be playing young players to find out what they have for the coming years. But only two first-year players have seen significant action. There has reportedly already been tension between the coaches and the management regarding the lack of action for two rookie offensive linemen, despite the o-line being a sieve. First-year pass catchers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr have totaled nine catches in 11 games, despite the lack of spark in the passing game. Carroll continues to utilize experienced veterans on defense over young players in need of experience.

Unclear Future

Where is the path forward? Will Carroll be back or Spytek or the quarterback? And who actually makes those decisions, Brady or Davis? How can a team function when its most powerful decision-maker logs in occasionally, signs off major organizational decisions, and then disappears on other projects?

It's going to be a struggle for the Raiders to improve – and they are in a division filled with consistently successful teams. Meanwhile, other rebuilders have paths. The New York Jets are loaded with future draft picks. The Titans and Giants have promising young quarterbacks. The Raiders have nothing. No core. No quarterback. No identity. No plan.

The only thing more dangerous than being ineffective in the NFL is not recognizing you're underperforming. The Raiders don't know where they are, what they are developing, or who will make decisions in the summer.

Tom Brady once excelled at football through ruthless focus. The Raiders could use more than limited attention of it.