The Raiders made a monumental move in their continued rebuild late last week, opting to trade star defensive end Maxx Crosby to the Ravens in exchange for two first-round picks, including the No. 14 selection in the 2026 NFL draft.
At the crux of it all? Minority (the operative word here) owner Tom Brady, whose influence over the franchise—while welcomed by Mark Davis & Co.—has gone far from smoothly.
While outlining how Friday night’s deal ultimately came to a close, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler went into detail on how Las Vegas’s front office used its leverage to squeeze the most out of the 28-year-old edge rusher’s value, pinning bidders—which included the Cowboys—against each other to land “maximum draft capital” out of the deal. Dallas reportedly kept a hard line on not including two first-rounders in the package, but would have preferred to send a veteran player in the package instead.
Fowler also added that the Bears monitored the situation, seemingly insinuating that any potential interest from the Patriots would have been a nonstarter.
“No way Tom [Brady] was sending Maxx to [Mike] Vrabel,” said a source involved in the trade.
That’s quite the input from somebody who holds just a 5% ownership stake in the team.
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That said, Brady has repeatedly gone beyond what his job description with the Raiders might suggest. In fact, one of the reasons Crosby is ultimately headed out of Sin City next week is partly the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s doing.
Crosby among the Raiders’ players ‘frustrated’ by Alex Guerrero’s role
Among the multitude of reasons why Crosby was ultimately fed up with his time in Las Vegas was the presence of Alex Guerrero, the team’s “wellness coordinator,” most known for his relationship with Brady.
According to The Athletic’s Mike Silver, Guerrero is said to “regularly attend practices and meetings,” while “[purporting] to possess significant organizational power.” The longtime body coach of Brady has also reportedly informed players of impending transactions, suggested that staff members could lose their jobs if they didn’t follow his orders, and is “perceived to have a direct pipeline to Brady.”
That’s quite the authority for the practitioner of alternative medicine who’s already known for causing friction with NFL franchises in the past. Guerrero’s influence is just one example of how Brady’s fingerprints—for better or for worse—are all over the Raiders.
Brady’s continued influence in Las Vegas is worth monitoring
Since Brady’s minority stake in the Raiders became official in late 2024, the team has been in a downward spiral. They’ve fired two head coaches—Antonio Pierce and Pete Carroll, the latter of whom was hired with Brady heavily involved—in back-to-back seasons, parted ways with a general manager in Tom Telesco, and finished a lowly 3–14 in 2025, in turn earning the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.
Additionally, Brady (who also calls games for Fox, mind you) was seen wearing a headset in the coaches’ booth early last season and was said to meet with now-fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly multiple times per week, despite the now-fired play caller’s tenure with the Raiders being a notorious disaster.
Again, this is far beyond the landscape of a typical minority owner.
Brady’s latest insertion into the heart of the Raiders’ organization was during the NFL combine, where he reportedly phoned in to the team’s interview with presumptive No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. The former Indiana quarterback said the call was “very special” and that he’s looking forward to meeting Brady in person.
Moving forward, the question won’t just be how Las Vegas performs on the field, but whether they’ll eventually have the GOAT take a step back for the good of the franchise.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tom Brady Continues to Make It Clear That He's Far More Than a Raiders Minority Owner.
