NFL approval of Tom Brady’s purchase into Raiders ‘making progress’،
ORLANDO, Fla. — The NFL has yet to approve Tom Brady's bid for a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, but Commissioner Roger Goodell isn't worried.
“I wouldn't say it's a delay,” Goodell said Tuesday at the NFL's annual league meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes. “We're going through a very thorough process. … We're just going through our process. We've been in contact with them. I think it's making progress.”
Last May, the Raiders reached an agreement for Brady to join the organization's ownership group, pending league approval.
“We’re excited to have Tom join the Raiders,” owner Mark Davis told ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez at the time. “And it’s exciting because he will be only the third player in National Football League history to own it.”
George Halas and Jerry Richardson are the other two.
The league's approval requires a supermajority vote of at least 24 NFL owners. Members did not vote on the issue this week. It is planned to meet again in May.
In other highlights from Goodell's press conference:
• The league is still investigating whether the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons tampered with the free agency signings of running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Kirk Cousins, respectively.
“I usually don't get an update until the conclusion. I know they immediately worked hard on it,” Goodell said.
• NFL defensive players took to social media to express their frustration with the league's ban on the hip swivel tackle. The tackling style – clinging to the ball carrier's back while dropping body weight on the back of his legs – now carries a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down. Goodell said competition committee members met with the league at the NFL combine last month, watching sample videos and asking questions of league engineers.
“It’s a game that has 20 times more injuries,” Goodell said. “From this point of view, we cannot allow this. We have been very clear: when we see a technique that is going to affect the safety of our players, we will work hard to remove it.” Goodell said he expects a “transition period” with this decision, similar to the head-lowering changes years ago.
• Goodell was asked about the implications of the gambling scandal involving former Shohei Ohtani performer Ippei Mizuhara. The NFL is monitoring the situation.
“Like everyone else, we are trying to learn and educate, to make sure all of our staff are subject to the policy [understands] “We have long said that the integrity of the game is the number one priority, and that remains the case.”
• A new stadium for the Washington Commanders “is warranted in our opinion,” said Goodell, who stressed the importance of a modernized presence in the “nation's capital.” The team released renderings of a multibillion-dollar project in September, and new owner Josh Harris spoke of his desire for the club's new home.
• The NFL considered placing Buffalo Bills passer Von Miller on the commissioner's exempt list after his alleged assault on his girlfriend in late 2023, but “felt it was not appropriate based on the facts “Goodell said. Miller's case is still under review by the league. Police issued an arrest warrant for Miller in November on a charge of third-degree criminal assault of a pregnant woman. Miller, who turned himself in at the Glenn Heights, Texas, Police Department on Nov. 30, later told Buffalo media that the allegations were “100 percent false” and “exaggerated.”
• The NFL is confident that Sao Pãulo, Brazil – host of a Week 1 game this year – will be an “explosive market” for the league. The league has not yet decided on an opponent for the Philadelphia Eagles at Arena Corinthians.
