Mark Davis says Tom Brady was 'close' to signing with Raiders in 2020, but owner was outvoted by coach and GM

As Davis tells it, Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock wanted to stick with Derek Carr instead of bringing in Brady

When Tom Brady became a free agent in 2020, there were a handful of team that pursued the then 40-year-old quarterback. The Buccaneers were the team that managed to get Brady to sign on the dotted line and went on to win a Super Bowl with Brady at the helm, leaving those that failed to get him wondering what could've been. 

The Dolphins and owner Stephen Ross famously got punished for tampering with Brady to try and bring him to Miami, but they weren't alone in trying to woo the future Hall of Famer. The Raiders also made a push for Brady, with the star quarterback clearly having an affinity for the franchise as he now has a minority stake in the team's ownership. 

Mark Davis discussed the team's push for Brady in a recent episode of Raiders: Talk of the Nation, explaining that they were close to bringing him to Vegas, but Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock "wanted to go in a different direction" and stick with Derek Carr. 

"[Tom Brady] was supposed to be here in 2020," Davis said. "That's when our relationship started was in 2020 when he was a free agent and we talked about him coming here to play quarterback. And obviously it was a tough decision for him and he was close to wanting to come here, but the head coach and general manager decided they wanted to go in a different direction. So we didn't sign him, but as I got to know him through that process I let his agent know that when he was done playing, that I would like him to be part of our organization." 

Going with Carr over Brady did not have the intended results, and both Mayock and Gruden are no longer with the organization. As Davis tells it, that relationship built in those meetings laid the foundation for Brady to join the team's ownership after retiring, but if he had it his way, Brady would've ended his playing career as a Raider before making that transition into ownership. 

Now, it should be noted that Davis acting as though he, as the team's owner, couldn't dictate to Mayock that they sign Brady is a bit funny. If he really wanted to, he could've demanded it and made it happen. Perhaps it's laudable that he didn't force a major roster decision on his front office and coaching staff, but to paint it as a situation where he just got out-voted is a bit disingenuous when he has the vote that counts. 

In any case, Brady is now part of the organization and was more forward facing this summer, with Davis hoping he can bring some additional credibility to the football side of the operation and provide a unique perspective into how to build a championship caliber team.