The greatest football player of all time has been in the news a lot recently. The play-by-play analyst and minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders has stirred controversy by being in the coaches’ box for the Raiders despite meeting with opposing teams for his FOX position.
However, the real shocker came when Brady announced last Sunday that he would be joining a flag football tournament in Saudi Arabia in March of 2026. Brady is not traveling alone to this tournament, he will be joined by his old teammate Rob Gronkowski. Among the other big names are Odell Beckham Jr., Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffery, Myles Garrett and Tyreek Hill along with a few others.
Confirmed coaches for the teams are Pete Carroll of the Raiders, Sean Payton of the Broncos and Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers.
Brady and longtime collaborator Fanatics have partnered with Turki Al-Sheikh of Saudi Arabia to get this deal done. Al-Sheikh is a sports promoter for General Entertainment Authority, a department in Saudi Arabia’s government. Al-Sheikh and other promoters of Saudi Arabia have been heavily involved with the UFC and WWE with some involvement in NBA preseason games as well.
With all of that being said, how does this look for Brady? The seven-time Super Bowl champion earned over $300 million in his career and inked a 10-year, $375 million contract with FOX upon his retirement. Despite some recent scandals off the field, Brady is most likely well off with his career earnings.
Brady’s competitiveness cannot be questioned based off his recent events with the Raiders. He also infamously unretired in the 2022 offseason to play one last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
When you look at the greats of other sports and how their post playing career turned out, you see some interesting similarities and differences to Brady.
Tiger Woods was offered somewhere between $700 and 800 million dollars to leave the PGA Tour and sign with the Saudi Arabian backed LIV Golf. Woods turned down the offer to show his staunch support for the PGA Tour. Woods continues to golf for the PGA Tour to this day.
Michael Jordan is one of the undisputed two best basketball players of all time. He famously had many different retirements including coming out of retirement for a second time to play for the Washington Wizards for two seasons. Jordan then bought the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010 before he helped rebrand them back to the Hornets. He sold the team in 2023 after over a decade of mediocrity and zero playoff series victories.
The success of Jordan’s “Jumpman” forever changed the landscape of business and sneakers. Brady has his “TB12” and his deal with the clothing company No Bull, hoping to find some of the success Jordan had.
Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez had two of the best baseball careers of the past quarter century. Both are a part of the FOX family alongside Brady and have many business deals outside of their sport. Jeter also took the Brady and Jordan route, becoming the CEO of the Miami Marlins from 2017-2022.
So, what’s in it for Brady besides a ton of money? A chance to show people that he can still sling the football around with the best of the best. A chance to reignite the competitive juices that players openly speak about having post playing career. Most importantly, it can provide future business opportunities between the country of Saudi Arabia and Brady.
Is it worth it to “sell out” to the money instead of sticking to your morals like Woods? That can be debated but a paycheck is a paycheck, and Brady cannot be faulted for wanting a quick check for himself and his family.
Brady’s flag football games will certainly attract viewers, but the success of the event will be crucial for Brady and his future, along with the future possibility of football in Saudi Arabia.
Greed, period