Why didn't Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski sign with Raiders in 2020?
The cat's now out of the bag: Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were nearly Las Vegas Raiders following their storied tenures in New England.
UFC President Dana White delivered the startling revelation on Saturday night's "UFC 278 With The Gronks" prelim broadcast, noting then-Raiders coach Jon Gruden "blew the deal up" at the last minute.
Though Gronkowski confirmed the validity of the report, Raiders owner Mark Davis neither confirmed nor denied it.
"I heard about [White’s comments]," Davis said at Saturday's Las Vegas Aces' playoff game vs. the Phoenix Mercury. "That was what – two to three years ago or something? I don’t know, man. Talk to Dana. I remember that Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay. That’s basically what I remember.
"I have no idea. Dana has the stories. I love Dana. He is a great, great promoter."
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Tom Brady nearly signed with the Raiders until Jon Gruden blew the deal up, according to UFC’s Dana White. Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless react to the bombshell revelation.
The notion that Brady (and Gronk) could have wound up in Las Vegas blew "Undisputed" cohost Skip Bayless' mind.
"My first shock of the night was that Rob Gronkowski coaxed Dana White to even tell this story," Bayless stated. "This was a strong indication to me that Rob Gronkowski is officially retired, because all of a sudden, he's breaking the cardinal rule of, 'what's said in the locker room stays in the locker room.'
"And it's all to promote the broadcast, ratings-wise, bombshell-wise … It pretty much took over the whole night. … Why did Gronk want it out there?"
Bayless claimed that while the story netted positive ramifications for the now-retired Gronk, it could only do damage to Brady's reputation.
This is in part because Brady previously alluded to an undisclosed team expressing interest in him during his 2020 free agency, only to pull away at the last minute. "I was thinking, you're sticking with that motherf---er?" he reminisced on HBO's "The Shop" with LeBron James.
"I don't think Tom is very happy with his dear friend Rob Gronkowski, because what does this story do for him? It does him no good," Bayless opined.
Shannon Sharpe theorized that Gruden shelved a potential deal because he "did not like the idea of giving up power.
"When you bring a guy on like Tom Brady, the power shifts," Sharpe said. "You are no longer the dominant force in the locker room. They are. If you know Jon Gruden, he’s not ceding power to anyone. …
"It takes a special type of a coach – swallowing his ego, playing second fiddle – in order to have this dynamic on your roster. … We saw Bruce Arians do that to a certain extent. … Very few coaches – especially once you get to a Jon Gruden level, he's won a championship, and we know how power-centric he is – are willing to do that. Coach [Bill] Belichick got Tom Brady as a youngster, so he could mold him and keep the power."
The blockbuster acquisitions exist only in an alternate multiverse, but fans and analysts alike couldn't help but wonder "what if" after White stunned the sports world Saturday night.
It looks like what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay there after all.