Mike Florio slams Dolphins ownership's ‘nutty’ Tom Brady scheme - “Ill-conceived mess”
Tom Brady's 2022 offseason was a story almost as gripping, for much of the public, as what transpired on the gridiron that season. After more than half a decade of speculation, the quarterback finally stepped away from the game, but didn't stay away for long.
During his six-week retirement, the quarterback was reported to have jumped into talks to become a part-owner and full-time player of and for the Miami Dolphins.
Now, in 2023, the quarterback has followed through on the purchase, albeit with a different team. Immediately, fans speculated as to the quarterback's true intentions.
NFL analyst Mike Florio demolished the Dolphins' ownership over their alleged scheme to steal the quarterback away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wake of all of the rules now coming to light prohibiting such a move:
: @FanDuelTV | @heykayadams | @MattHamilton25Jimmy Garoppolo failed his initial physical with the Raiders due to his foot injury he suffered last year…
soooo... will Tom Brady find a way to QB for the Raiders?😅👀
📺: @FanDuelTV | @heykayadams | @MattHamilton25 https://t.co/UEAnejkbm9
"What in the hell were the Dolphins thinking in 2022? They were planning to: (1) sell [No. 12] a slice of the team; (2) hire Sean Payton to be the coach; and (3) eventually deploy [him] as the quarterback."
𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴: Legendry QB Tom Brady has officially agreed to buy a minority share of the Raiders.
His agreement has been submitted to the league and will now need to be approved by the NFL.
(via @AlbertBreer) https://t.co/m9GQ6YUjfd
He continued, outlining all of the hoops the team would have needed to jump through:
"Owner Stephen Ross either overlooked or disregarded the issues inherent to Brady moving from ownership suite to sidelines. Beyond the fact that the Dolphins would have been required to swing a trade with the Bucs for Brady’s contractual rights, the Dolphins also would have needed a 32-0 vote of ownership to allow Brady to become a player."
At the end of his rant, he delivered a hostile conclusion:
"It underscores what an ill-conceived mess it all was, as primarily evidenced by the fact that the Dolphins ultimately got neither Brady nor Payton — and lost a first-round pick in the process."
What is Tom Brady doing now?
Over the last 12 months, the quarterback has experienced a shuffling of his decades-long day-to-day life.
At this time in 2022, the quarterback was back with the Buccaneers and heading down the home stretch of his offseason. Now, a year later, the quarterback is fully retired and on deck to join FOX in 2024 as an NFL color commentator.
He's also now a part-owner of the Raiders. In other words, he may not be on the gridiron anymore, but the former quarterback is surrounding it with his influence.
Of course, the partial team purchase leaves some worried about how it will go down when it comes time for him to commentate on a Raiders game that he is personally invested in.
Will FOX elect to have him skip those games? Alternatively, will the NFL world get a glimpse of how owners truly react when their team loses or if they see fans leaving early in blowouts. On the other hand, if the team wins, will owners like No. 12 be able to contain their enthusiasm.
There are at least some aspects of this that are completely uncharted territory for the league. Either way, the results should be entertaining.