Any conflicts of interest with his job calling games for FOX Sports aside, Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady is going to be anything but a minor influence on the team's operation. Reports he has reached out to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford took on a new angle Wednesday with a report he hosted Stafford at his home in Montana. The idea they just happened to be at the same ski resort in Montana is laughable.
In any case, Brady's stature and acumen are an asset to the Raiders' organization until shown otherwise. New head coach Pete Carroll will have a big say in things as well, but Brady can (and will) be a front-facing salesman for how things will operate differently on a more macro level.
The Raiders have made the playoffs just twice since losing Super Bowl XXXVII, after the 2002 season. No current player has any memory of when they were a good team in the 1970s and early 1980's, so that history is not a selling point.
Being part of bringing the franchise back to that level of success could be a selling point though.
Tom Brady is not even the Raiders' biggest selling point to court free agents
The results of the third annual NFLPA survey were released on Wednesday. Players evaluated their teams on a wide range of things, from ownership, to the head coach, to food options to family accommodations.
Raiders owner Mark Davis is considered one of the more "cash poor" owners in the NFL. But that has not stopped him from pulling out all the stops to create a good work environment. The Raiders came in fourth out 32 teams in overall grade according to the NFLPA's survey, with A+ marks for Nutritionist/Dietician and Weight Room.
The NFLPA has released team report cards based on survey results from nearly 1,700 players.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 26, 2025
Here are the 2025 rankings: pic.twitter.com/Jmv0AMJQnu
The only individual grade for the Raiders that wasn't in the 'A' range (A+, A, A-) was a B+ for treatment of families, with a note that "players would like the team to help their families secure parking passes for home games." In the grand scheme of things, compared to where other teams were shown to fail in treatment of families, parking passes seem like a minor, easy to fix, thing.
Brady can sell the Raiders to free agents (or other potentially available players) incredibly well. But the organization offers plenty day-to-day behind the scenes to help players succeed at their highest level, and that will be the biggest factor in the effort to get good players.