Mike Florio suggests Raiders owner is lying about Dana White's Tom Brady trade rumor

The Las Vegas Raiders have been at the center of the NFL news world for a little while now, but not for anything on the field. A few things have recently come to light. It was revealed that former head coach Jon Gruden's offensive emails stretched back further than initially thought. Dana White also made headlines when he revealed that Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were close to becoming Raiders. This was back when the pair were leaving the New England Patriots.

White said that he had brokered a deal with the legendary quarterback to come to Las Vegas before he ultimately arrived in Tampa Bay. Reportedly, former head coach Jon Gruden vetoed the deal. This removed any possibility for the quarterback and tight end to land in Vegas.

Raiders owner Mark Davis said he wasn't aware of any such deals:

"That was what — two to three years ago or something? I don’t know, man. Talk to Dana. I remember that Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay. That’s basically what I remember. I have no idea. Dana has the stories. I love Dana. He is a great, great promoter. Why would this make me upset?”

Analyst Mike Florio finds this very hard to believe.

"I'm told Davis knew exactly what was going on. White was brokering the deal on Davis' behalf. Davis wanted it! It was happening! How could the guy paying Brady not know that this was going on?"

It does seem very strange that the owner wouldn't be aware of such a big thing. Attempting to sign Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski is the kind of thing you'd be sure to remember for a long time.

This leads to the question of why he might deny such a thing.

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Why Mark Davis might lie about knowing Tom Brady almost joined the Raiders

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Overall, the saga is a tricky situation, as it could land the Raiders and Davis in hot water. Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was fined and his team lost a first- and third-round pick over their attempts to sign Brady. If Davis admitted to knowing about the deal, then he, too, would be in trouble for tampering. That's probably the reason he's denying any and all knowledge.

However, it also doesn't look good. The Dolphins were caught tampering and were heavily punished and failed to sign the player they tampered with. It's not the kind of thing you want to be in the news for.

It will be interesting to see if the NFL opens up an inquiry into the matter. If White is to be believed, the Raiders may have tampered with Brady and Gronkowski.

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