Raiders' Mark Davis Discusses Dana White Saying Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski Had a Deal
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis has no interest in revisiting his team fumbling a trade for Tom Brady at the 1-yard line.
Davis issued a firm non-committal answer when asked about UFC president Dana White's story that he brokered a deal for Brady and Rob Gronkowski to land in Las Vegas in 2020.
"I heard about (White's comments)," Davis said, per Ed Graney and Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "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. Why would this make me upset? I was busy watching (the Raiders beat Miami 15-13) and the (Las Vegas Aces) basketball game."
White broke the story Saturday night when speaking to Gronkowski on the future Hall of Famer's UFC 278 with The Gronks program. According to White, he brokered a deal that would have landed the Raiders both Brady and Gronkowski, only for then-coach Jon Gruden to pull out at the last minute.
"Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn't want him and all hell broke loose, man," White said. "It was crazy, and Brady was already looking at houses and it wasn't being said yet that Gronk was coming. So, Las Vegas would have had Brady and Gronk the year that the Bucs won the Super Bowl, except Gruden blew the deal up."
Gronkowski confirmed the story on the broadcast.
Of course, Davis has an incentive to play coy. While Brady was a free agent in March 2020, Gronkowski was retired and still under contract with the New England Patriots. The Raiders having a deal in place for Gronkowski would have constituted tampering; Davis would be inviting a fine or potential loss of a draft pick by admitting the clandestine deal.
It's possible White's comments wind up leading to a tampering investigation against the Raiders anyway.
The NFL recently stripped the Miami Dolphins of their 2023 first-round pick and 2024 third-round pick for tampering with Brady and former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton.
As it stands, Gronkowski confirming the story and expletive-laden circumstantial evidence from Brady makes it almost certain White was telling the truth.
