Tom Brady is a limited partner with the Las Vegas Raiders. But his footprint at the franchise suggests that he wields more power than his title implies. While rumors of a future succession plan continue to swirl, the legendary quarterback has quietly positioned himself as the ultimate strategic architect behind-the-scenes. 

“Brady is such a fascinating guy right now, because he kind of answers to no one,” ESPN’s Seth Wickersham told Awful Announcing. “He gets to do what he wants. I think that he can have as much influence of that team as he wants to. I do think there’s a difference. Even though he’s an owner, obviously, he has a lot of philosophies and a foundation of how a team should be run. I think if you’re gonna do that, you have to be there a lot.” 

Slowly, but surely, Brady has been making his presence known. He pushed the Raiders to hire John Spytek as their new general manager; Spytek also played football with the quarterback at Michigan. Brady had also been heavily involved in the hiring of Pete Carroll, who was fired in 2025, and in the process of bringing Klint Kubiak as a replacement. Team owner Mark Davis even openly claimed that Kubiak will directly report to Spytek and Brady.

This offseason, Brady has become a more present figure in the team’s operation. He attended the OTAs in May, and has “definitely been around more,” according to tight end Brock Bowers. Last year in August, Tom Brady visited the Raiders’ during camp.

Get The Huddle Newsletter. The day's biggest NFL stories — rivalries, matchups, expert analysis, power rankings, and insider draft news.

Brady cannot attend practices during the season as he also works for FOX as a broadcaster, but he is making it count when he can. The Raiders have not improved much since he became part of the franchise, but it’s also been working very hard to change things around.

Clearly, he’s been far more active than the average minority partner of a team. According to Wickersham, there might come a time Brady takes more control.

“I think that there’ll be some point where [Mark Davis] ends up selling his controlling ownership. And when that happens, I could imagine Brady even having a bigger role. At the end of the day, it’s ultimately his decision.”

On paper, Tom Brady owns only a 5% stake in the Raiders. He doesn’t even hold a formal title running the daily football department. Yet, Davis has repeatedly bypassed the traditional power structure to rely on Brady’s decisions.