"It was almost a done deal" - Dana White reveals he tried to get Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to join forces for Las Vegas Raiders

Dana White claims he almost brought Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to Las Vegas [Photo credit: @raiders on Instagram]

UFC president Dana White revealed that he worked on a deal that would have sent Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020.

Two years ago, longtime teammates Brady and Gronkowski reunited in Tampa Bay to lead the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title against the Kansas City Chiefs. If the UFC boss is to be believed, though, Brady and Gronkowski's fourth Super Bowl title together could be in the Raiders' trophy case right now.

Speaking during a live commentary of Saturday night’s UFC 278 event featuring 'Gronk' and members of his family, White said:

"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, Gruden blew the deal up and said he didn't want them. 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."

Check out the interaction between Dana White and Rob Gronkowski:

Dana White says Brady and Gronk ➡️ Raiders "was almost a done deal." 😳 #UFC278 https://t.co/buWEXxi5Ho

White also blamed former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden for allegedly blowing the deal up. The fight promoter claimed the duo were already preparing for a move to Las Vegas until Gruden changed his mind about the deal "at the last minute."

Rob Gronkowski comfims Dana White's story about him and Tom Brady almost joining the Las Vegas Raiders

Rob Gronkowski confirmed that Dana White's piece of insider information is true. He responded to the UFC president by saying:

"And Dana, that is exactly what happened and you just told the story. It worked out for the best and I’m glad it did not go through."

It's hardly surprising that White did everything he could to convince Brady to join his favorite NFL team, though. The UFC boss called the multi-time Super Bowl champion during an Instagram live session in March 2020 and pitched him on joining the Raiders:

"Las Vegas would love to have you here with the Raiders," White said."The stadium, the facility is incredible. The training facility that they have outside of Vegas is unbelievable. It's a 45-minute flight from L.A. Your kids and your family could live there and fly back and forth. We want you to come to the Raiders. You know I've been pitching you now for a month. Come on, brother. Get to Vegas."

Watch Dana White's video below:

Dana White called up Tom Brady on Instagram Live and pitched him on joining the Raiders 👀

(via @danawhite) https://t.co/nAQ34UstnI