"It was almost a done deal" - When Dana White recalled trying to bring NFL stars Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to the Las Vegas Raiders
Dana White is a regular at the Las Vegas Raiders' home field, the Allegiant Stadium, and also owns a part of it.
In 2020, the Las Vegas Raiders relocated to the third location in their history after previously representing Oakland and Los Angeles. White revealed that in their first year in Las Vegas, they could have signed legendary quarterback Tom Brady and his trusted tight end Rob Gronkowski.
In 2022, following UFC 278, White narrated the story of how he orchestrated a deal to get Brady and Gronkowski to Vegas but fell short. Coach Jon Gruden was responsible for ultimately pulling the plug on the deal. In his appearance on UFC 278 With the Gronks, White said:
"So I'm the one – I worked to put that deal together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders. And it was almost a done deal and at the last minute [Jon] Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn’t want him. And all hell broke loose, man. 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."
White also mentioned that there was more context and detail to the story and that he would not have revealed anything had Gronkowski not brought up the topic.
Check out Dana White's full comments in the clip below:
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis reacts to Dana White's comments
Las Vegas Raiders' principal owner, Mark Davis, commented on Dana White's description of the trade that nearly went through.
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Davis did not recollect any details of the trade and redirected the media to White for the complete story. He said:
"I heard about [White's comments]. That was what — two to three years ago or something? I don't know. 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 basketball game."
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski both made their way to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and led the team to its second-ever Super Bowl victory.
Check out their highlights below: