Tom Brady was apparently all set to become a Raider after leaving the Patriots — that is, until Jon Gruden stepped in and shot it down … this according to Dana White.
The UFC honcho broke down the story Saturday during the UFC 278 broadcast … telling Rob Gronkowski and a bunch of other panelists that TB12 was, in fact, gunning to join the Las Vegas Raiders … something DW had been pitching him on for a long time at that point.
This was all happening during Tom’s free agency period in 2020, BTW, and per Dana … the GOAT was actually already scoping out houses in the area. So it sounds like it was just about a done deal — with Dana working behind the scenes to make it all happen.
Not just that … but Rob himself was apparently going to join Tom there in Vegas under this would-be move. The reason it fell apart, so says Dana, is because of the ex-head coach.
Asked Dana White if he’d expound on the Tom Brady to Vegas plan he revealed earlier. A plan that eventually blew up and nobody was happy. @Raiders #RaiderNation #8NN pic.twitter.com/aShbEt8hGv
— Chris Maathuis (@sports8) August 21, 2022
@sports8
Gruden allegedly blew it up last minute, saying he didn’t want Tom and co. — and, apparently, the ownership listened to him. Tom ended up joining the Bucs instead, and went on to win the Super Bowl later in 2021 … with none other than Gronk by his side for the glory.
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Jon Gruden Out As Raiders Coach After Reported Homophobic Slurs In Emails
Dana later elaborated a bit on the tale, telling reporters Brady wasn’t happy about it at the time … but wouldn’t get into the exact details of what Gruden’s beef was.
Of course, he ended up getting canned by the organization amid a racism controversy from prior emails.
Gruden ended up suing the league and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, claiming the leaked correspondence was part of a coordinated character assassination.
Ah, what might’ve been …