{"id":52352,"date":"2022-08-21T23:50:52","date_gmt":"2022-08-21T23:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ufcs-dana-white-says-tom-brady-rob-gronkowski-nearly-joined-raiders\/"},"modified":"2022-08-21T23:50:52","modified_gmt":"2022-08-21T23:50:52","slug":"ufcs-dana-white-says-tom-brady-rob-gronkowski-nearly-joined-raiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ufcs-dana-white-says-tom-brady-rob-gronkowski-nearly-joined-raiders\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC&#8217;s Dana White says Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski nearly joined Raiders"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"wpds-c-grBDNq hide-for-print mb-sm undefined\">\n<div class=\"PJLV PJLV-iAjpuP-css flex items-center\" config=\"[object Object]\" data-qa=\"article-actions\">\n<div class=\"wpds-c-fLphcs\"><button class=\"wpds-c-gNHrZC wpds-c-gNHrZC-bywHgD-variant-primary wpds-c-gNHrZC-biynoz-density-compact wpds-c-gNHrZC-hZSyid-isOutline-true wpds-c-gNHrZC-ejCoEP-icon-left wpds-c-gNHrZC-futxca-cv wpds-c-gNHrZC-ihhnWqF-css\"><button class=\"PJLV PJLV-igcOMTV-css\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"wpds-c-coakfw wpds-c-efqEZa focus-highlight flex items-center justify-center brad-lg pointer transition-400 ease-in-out transition-colors\" aria-label=\"Comment on this story\" iconstyle=\"[object Object]\"><title>Comment on this story<\/title><path d=\"M14 14V2H2v9.47h8.18L12.43 13ZM3 10.52V3h10v9.23l-2.5-1.66Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p>Comment<\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"teaser-content grid-center\">\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">UFC President Dana White said Saturday that Tom Brady might have become the quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders when he was a free agent in 2020 but that Jon Gruden, then the team&#8217;s coach, put the kibosh on it at the last minute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">That&#8217;s the story told by White, who has no ties to the NFL but does have a friendship with Brady.  Rob Gronkowski, Brady&#8217;s longtime and now retired teammate, coaxed the story out of White on Saturday night during the Gronkowski-led alternate broadcast of UFC 278, seen on ESPN and ESPN Plus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u201cI worked to put that deal together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders,\u201d said White, who is not an NFL player agent.  \u201cIt was almost a done deal.  And at the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn&#8217;t want him and all hell broke loose, man.  It was crazy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u201cAnd Brady was already looking at houses.  It wasn&#8217;t said yet that Gronk was going to be 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">It&#8217;s a juicy tidbit, but there has been no comment from Gruden, who resigned from the Raiders last fall amid controversy over racist, homophobic and misogynistic language that he used in emails over a roughly seven-year span before agreeing to his second stint as the team&#8217;s head coach.  Brady has not commented, either.  After missing a big chunk of the training camp, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gregauman\/status\/1561385854207148034\" target=\"_blank\">he is expected<\/a> to return \u201cearly\u201d this week, according to Tampa Bay Buccaneers Coach Todd Bowles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p><span class=\"font--article-body font-copy hide-for-print ma-0 pb-md db italic interstitial\">Tom Brady to miss 10-plus days in what Bucs call a pre-planned absence<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">There had been reports that the Raiders were interested in Brady before he reached free agency, and White has spoken previously of wanting to see the quarterback land with the Raiders.  Of course, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was recently suspended and fined, along with the team being stripped of two draft picks, for tampering in connection with Brady and former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">As Brady&#8217;s time in New England wound down, he was clearly interested in a number of teams and his hometown San Francisco 49ers were often mentioned, too.  An NFL investigation determined that the Dolphins had impermissible communications with Brady in 2019 and 2020 while he was under contract with the Patriots.  The Dolphins also had impermissible communications with Brady and his agent, whom the league did not identify by name, during and after the 2021 season, while he was under contract with the Buccaneers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Brady himself discussed his free agency and the lack of interest from one unnamed team in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/barstoolsports\/status\/1408756852335185921\" target=\"_blank\">a June 2021 appearance<\/a> on LeBron James&#8217;s YouTube show, \u201cThe Shop,\u201d which was aired at the time by HBO.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u201cOne of the teams, they weren&#8217;t interested at the very end,\u201d Brady said.  \u201cI was thinking, &#8216;You&#8217;re sticking with that motherf&#8212;&#8211;?&#8217;  \u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">As for this latest intrigue, Gronkowski was the one who brought up the story Saturday night and White said he had not planned to discuss it until Gronkowski asked.  Unlike Brady, Gronkowski was not nearing free agency at the time.  He was under contract with the Patriots despite having retired after the 2018 season and the team&#8217;s sixth Super Bowl title.  New England later traded him to Tampa Bay, where he and Brady teamed up for another championship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">Gronkowski, the center of speculation about whether he might un-retire at some point this season, went on to add that he was \u201cglad\u201d the Raiders deal \u201cdid not go through.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"font-copy font--article-body gray-darkest ma-0 pb-md\">\u201cIt all worked out for the best, man.  I&#8217;m glad we went to Tampa, man.  It just worked out.  I love that place.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"b bt bc-offblack dn-ns hide-for-print\" data-testid=\"mostRead\" subscriptions-section=\"content\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comment on this story Comment UFC President Dana White said Saturday that Tom Brady might have become the quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders when he was a free agent in 2020 but that Jon Gruden, then the team&#8217;s coach, put the kibosh on it at the last minute. That&#8217;s the story told by White, &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ufcs-dana-white-says-tom-brady-rob-gronkowski-nearly-joined-raiders\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">UFC&#8217;s Dana White says Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski nearly joined Raiders<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51687,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/dana-white-claims-tom-brady-and-rob-gronkowski-to-raiders-was-almost-a-done-deal-in-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":52352,"position":0},"title":"Dana White claims Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to Raiders was &#8220;almost a done deal&#8221; in 2020","date":"August 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Getty Images No, the Dolphins and the Buccaneers weren't the only teams tampering with Tom Brady in 2020. The Raiders apparently were, too. Along with Rob Gronkowski.In the first-ever \u201cGronkCast\u201d conducted in connection with a UFC event, UFC president Dana White boasted that he'd brokered a deal for Brady and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"UFC 246: Holm v Pennington","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1200432078-e1661051846167.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":53793,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/source-mark-davis-knew-dana-white-was-working-a-deal-with-tom-brady\/","url_meta":{"origin":52352,"position":1},"title":"Source: Mark Davis knew Dana White was working a deal with Tom Brady","date":"August 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Getty Images On Saturday night, UFC vice president Dana White admitted that he'd brokered a deal for quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski to join the Raiders. On Sunday, Raiders owner Mark Davis took a page from the Sgt. Schultz playbook, claiming ignorance about the situation.\u201cThat was what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"UFC 246: Pettis v Ferreira","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1200426282-e1661249880881.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":52908,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/mark-davis-on-tom-brady-rob-gronkowski-dana-white-has-the-stories-i-have-no-idea\/","url_meta":{"origin":52352,"position":2},"title":"Mark Davis on Tom Brady\/Rob Gronkowski: Dana White has the stories, I have no idea","date":"August 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\r \r \r Getty Images Raiders owner Mark Davis was at a WNBA playoff game on Saturday, so he wasn't watching when UFC president Dana White joined Rob Gronkowski for the \u201cGronkCast\u201d of that night's UFC fights.Davis became aware of what was discussed during that event, however. White said that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New York Jets","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1364497135-e1661164786660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":53296,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/raiders-owner-mark-davis-said-he-doesnt-remember-details-about-dana-whites-alleged-tom-brady-deal\/","url_meta":{"origin":52352,"position":3},"title":"Raiders owner Mark Davis said he doesn&#8217;t remember details about Dana White&#8217;s alleged Tom Brady deal","date":"August 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Mark Davis doesn't remember details of the alleged deal that nearly brought Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020.At least, that's what he's going with.The Raiders owner was asked about the story that UFC President Dana White told last weekend where he claimed that he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52247,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/tom-brady-was-not-happy-raiders-deal-fell-apart-dana-white\/","url_meta":{"origin":52352,"position":4},"title":"Tom Brady was &#8216;not happy&#8217; Raiders deal fell apart: Dana White","date":"August 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Rob Gronkowski pried open the door to a new 'What if' on Saturday night when he got UFC president Dana White to discuss recruiting both him and Tom Brady to the Raiders \u2014 a move that was apparently on the doorstep of happening before being scuttled by Jon Gruden ahead\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) reacts as he leaves the field after the team lost to the Rams during an NFL divisional round playoff football game Sunday, Jan.  23, 2022, in Tampa, Fla.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/Rams_Buccaneers_Football.3-e1661103793530.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":52041,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/ufc-president-dana-white-says-he-helped-broker-deal-for-tom-brady-rob-gronkowski-to-join-raiders-in-2020-but-jon-gruden-blew-it-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":52352,"position":5},"title":"UFC president Dana White says he helped broker deal for Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski to join Raiders in 2020, but Jon Gruden &#8216;blew it up&#8217;","date":"August 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"UFC president Dana White said he helped set up a deal for Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to join the Las Vegas Raiders during the 2020 free agency period, but then-Raiders head coach Jon Gruden \"blew the deal up.\"White told the story during the \"UFC with the Gronks\" broadcast for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-apps\/imrs.php?src=https:\/\/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/G45BWZOSXBHA3DR6624RHVDJXU.jpg&w=1440","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52352"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52352\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}