Tom Brady’s plans following retirement took many intriguing turns.
Reports came out on Thursday by ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio that Brady was extremely close to becoming a minority owner and the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins. Brady retired on Feb. 1 and he was going to announce his move to Miami as soon as the following week around the Super Bowl. The Dolphins, as previously reported, were also in pursuit of landing Sean Payton to coach the team.
But, Brian Flores’ lawsuit happened to come on the same day that Brady retired. He filed a class-action discrimination lawsuit that slowed down the track of bringing in a white coach and minority owner.
Here’s Florio’s full report on Thursday about Brady’s potential move.
When Tom Brady retired on February 1, his next move already was coming into focus. Per multiple sources, Brady eventually would have been introduced as a minority owner of the Dolphins. The announcement would have been made as soon as the following week, which was the week that preceded the Super Bowl.
When we reported on February 28 that the Dolphins had planned to pursue a Sean Payton/Tom Brady package deal, the Dolphins privately acknowledged that they had contacted the Saints about the possibility of hiring Payton. As to Brady, the Dolphins privately acknowledged that there had been discussions about Brady becoming a minority owner of the team.
Then came the Brian Flores lawsuit. Filed (coincidentally or not) the same day Brady retired, the litigation resulted in the plug being pulled on the Payton/Brady plan.
Ben Volin of The Boston Globe laid out more details on Friday about Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Brady’s intentions.
“Ross badly wanted Brady — in part to bring sizzle to the Dolphins, in part to stick it to the Patriots,” Volin wrote. “For Brady, it was an opportunity to get into the business side of the NFL, with the goal of one day fronting his own ownership group.”
Brady already has “two big connections” within the organization, and that doesn’t count the close divisional ties because of his time in New England.
“One is the University of Michigan; Brady is its star alumnus, and Ross has his name on its business school,” Volin wrote. “The other is Dolphins minority owner Bruce Beal, who is Brady’s friend and has joined Brady on at least one trip to the Kentucky Derby.”
Brady has one year left on his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then these conversations could end up re-surfacing pretty quickly.
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