Let’s not look at Davante Adams’ trade to the Jets through the lens of numbers and analytics. Look at it like two long-lost friends being reunited after a long time. We might see Davante Adams on the field with Aaron Rodgers in the next game. While the Las Vegas Raiders lost a topflight receiver, they gained something invaluable, a part owner in Tom Brady.

Well, Brady is more than a minority owner of the Raiders. Some people say that since Mark Davis has no heir, the Raiders franchise might end up in the hands of the 7x Super Bowl winner. Whether that happens remains to be seen. Now that the sentimental talk is out of the way, let’s look at the semantics of this trade.

Mark Davis talks about the Davante Adams trade

The Athletic caught up with the Raiders owner Mark Davis during the NFL fall owners’ meeting in Atlanta to know more about the Davante Adams-Jets trade. Naturally, it was hard for Davis to let go of a player of Adams’ caliber, but at the same time, he was paying him $983,333 per week to not play. For the billionaire owner, players coming and going is a natural order of things and he has to make sound business decisions.

“It’s part of this life in football,” Davis said, with TheAthletic.com. “Players come and go. If things don’t work out, they don’t work out. [G.M.] Tom Telesco did a good job today of making sure that we move forward in the future with as little distraction as possible.” As apparent, letting Davante Adams leave was a decision that came from Antonio Pierce and the Raiders GM.

However, the owner had to get involved when the financial aspects of the trade were to be considered. As it stands, the New York Jets will pay Adams the remainder of his salary, which amounts to somewhere around $11.6 million, per league sources. The New York Jets acquired Adams in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in the 2025 draft. But Adams suddenly healing from his hamstring injury and getting ready to play for the Jets raises some eyebrows.

Nevertheless, the Raiders could have gotten a better pick in this trade if they were to pay Adams’ base salary for this year. Mark Davis and his team were unwilling to do so. So, were things not working out with Adams and the Raiders? Recently there was some commotion about Las Vegas Raiders HC liking a social media post that said that Adams had already played his last snap as a Raider and then the receiver sat out in the next few games because of his injury. Perhaps that’s why the owners left that decision to the GM and HC and personally, Mark Davis thought of Davante Adams’ situation as a “distraction” for his team.

“I leave these decisions up to the general manager and the head coach. Davis said, “They make the football decisions. I consult with them and I might play devil’s advocate a lot of times, but they make the decisions and they make the final decision.” While the Adams and Raiders movie has finished screening, there’s a new story brewing in Las Vegas and that’s the story that has Tom Brady in focus.

Joining the Raiders was a dream come true for Tom Brady

When Brady put in the proposal to become the minority owner of the Raiders back in May 2023, owners were worried that he got too much of a discount from the Raiders owner, Mark Davis. That’s why it took 17 months for 24 of the 32 owners to reach a unanimous decision to hand 5% of the franchise’s stakes to Tom Brady. But there are a lot of nuances to this deal.

For instance, he cannot come out of retirement to play unless he denounces his stake in the team. Also, his 10-year $375 million deal with FOX as broadcaster created a conflict of interest. Being a broadcaster also means that the 23-year veteran cannot criticize officials and cannot be in touch with the coaching staff of the Raiders. However, he’s free to announce Raiders games.

But Mark Davis isn’t worried about all that. In a statement, he said, “We’re really proud to have him as part of the organization,” and that “He’s a competitor, he’s a bright young man. There’s just so many pluses for both sides. It’s great.” Judy Battista reported that Davis thinks Brady can help the team select a quarterback despite not being able to play QB for his team.

All this has made Brady emotional. He admires Al Davis because of his “impact” in the league and to become a minority owner of the team was a “dream come true” for the former QB. “I’ll be playing a very passive role. This is something that I’m interested in doing for the rest of my life. This is not something that I’m into it for a year or two years,” the 7x Super Bowl- winner said.

Interesting times are ahead for the Las Vegas Raiders and though Brady might not make immediate splashes upon his arrival, Mark Davis might employ his QB expertise next year.