Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis wants Tom Brady to have a “huge voice” in building the infrastructure of his franchise’s current rebuild, and the future Hall of Famer reportedly exercised some of that power at the start of 2025 free agency.
Per The Athletic, Brady preferred a trade with Seattle for quarterback Geno Smith over a $100 million contract for former Minnesota Vikings starter Sam Darnold.
Specifically, Brady was “not in favor” of pursuing a contract with Darnold, who helped lead the Vikings to 14 wins and a playoff berth in 2024, and was selected to his first Pro Bowl.
“While some believed the Las Vegas Raiders would try to sign Darnold, minority owner Tom Brady—a seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback whose opinion held great sway—was not in favor of that approach,” The Athletic’s Mike Silver wrote, citing a source familiar with the franchise’s internal discussions.
While Darnold enjoyed a career year under coach Kevin O’Connell leading Minnesota’s loaded offense, he did himself no favors in the Vikings’ final two games of the season. In blowout losses to the Lions in Week 18 and the Rams on wild-card weekend, Darnold was sacked 11 times and had a woeful completion percentage of 53%. The Vikings scored just 18 combined points in those two fateful losses.
Brady likely couldn’t help but remember Darnold’s famous “I’m seeing ghosts,” game, when his Patriots crushed Darnold and the New York Jets, 33-0, on Monday Night Football during the 2019 season.
More likely, Brady favored Smith over Darnold due to franchise’s decision to hire Pete Carroll as head coach this offseason. Smith replaced Russell Wilson as Carroll’s starting quarterback in his final years with Seattle, so reuniting the coach and quarterback made a ton of sense for a Raiders team that’s looking to execute a quick rebuild.
In the end, everything worked out just fine for Darnold. Brady and the Raiders preferred Smith, and that trade led to the Seahawks inkling Darnold to a three-year deal worth a shade over $100 million. Time will tell how long Darnold can hold off rookie Jalen Milroe, but he landed in a prime spot to build on his success from 2024 with Minnesota.
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