Here’s Why the Door May Have Just Slammed on Any Tom Brady Comeback

A quirk in the NFL’s rules likely will keep the quarterback retired.

Football fans could be forgiven for disbelieving then-Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady when he announced his retirement on Feb. 1.

After all, hadn't Brady just retired on Feb. 1, 2022, only to reverse course on March 13, just 40 days later? It seemed like Brady had fallen into a cycle of retirement and unretirement, not unlike Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre once upon a time.

However, on Monday, Brady did something crucial to seemingly slam the door shut on a potential return: he bought an ownership stake in the Raiders.

“We have come to an agreement for Tom Brady to become a partner in the Raiders and we have submitted it to the NFL for approval,” Raiders owner Mark Davis told ESPN Monday. "We’re excited for Tom to join the Raiders.”

As ESPN’s Jeff Darlington pointed out Monday evening, a player can only play while holding financial interest in a team if all 32 teams allow him to do so.

This should also put to rest any of the final few holdouts still wondering if Tom will come back out of retirement. NFL rules require a vote of all 32 teams to allow anyone to play while holding a financial interest in a club. So we can all move on now… right? …right?? ???? https://t.co/sg8SzffpWf

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 22, 2023

Even if Brady wanted to play—and on the cusp of starting a lucrative television deal with Fox, that seems unlikely—he would have to have every NFL owner sign on to his cause, or sell his stake in Las Vegas.

Maybe we have seen the last of Brady after all.