As the wait for Tom Brady's ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders to go through continues, there is at least optimism the deal will eventually be approved by the NFL.
Per Mark Maske of the Washington Post, there is "a better than 50-50 chance the deal" will be ratified by team owners even though they didn't take a formal vote at a recent meeting in Nashville.
Maske noted the next owners meeting isn't scheduled until October, but there could be one added to the docket this summer.
MarkMaske @MarkMaskeThe next scheduled owners' meeting is in October. Tom Brady's deal for Raiders part-ownership potentially could be approved then by the owners. There also is a chance, it appears, of a special owners' meeting being scheduled this summer, perhaps for a vote on private equity.
Brady has been working toward purchasing an ownership stake in the Raiders for more than one year.
Raiders owner Mark Davis told ESPN's Paul Gutierrez in May 2023 that there was an agreement for Brady to join the organization as a minority owner.
"We're excited for Tom to join the Raiders," Davis said, "and it's exciting because he will be just the third player in the history of the National Football League to become an owner."
An update from NFL.com's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero on Feb. 11 indicated that Brady's purchase was on track to be approved after he "reached the threshold" to clear the league's hurdles.
The report noted the plan was for the league's finance committee to consider Brady's investment during a meeting in early March, with the possibility for final approval at the league meeting between March 24 and March 27.
Even though it wasn't voted on at that point, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters on March 26 that it was all part of a "thorough process" that everyone goes through.
"I wouldn't say it's a delay," Goodell said. "We go through a very thorough process. ... We're just going through our process. We've been in touch with their side. I think it's been making progress."
One of the major sticking points is Brady's broadcasting deal with Fox. Maske reported last week that some team owners have concerns about the potential conflict of having a television announcer who also has an ownership stake in a team.
Goodell recently said they have "addressed" that potential issue and are "making progress on" the situation.
Brady's stake is estimated to be about seven percent of the Raiders franchise when the deal gets finalized. He is set to join the Fox broadcast team as the No. 1 analyst after he originally signed a 10-year, $375 million deal with the network in May 2022.
