Dana White Says He Had 'Deal' for Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski to Join Raiders in 2020

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski could have donned the Silver and Black in 2020 and 2021, but apparently, former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden wasn't too fond of the idea.

UFC President Dana White said Saturday during an appearance on UFC 278 with The Gronks on ESPN that he had a deal done for Brady and Gronkowski to join the Raiders in 2020 but Gruden "blew the deal up":

"I'm the one... I worked to put that deal together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders and it was almost a done deal. And at the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn't want him and all hell broke loose man. It was crazy, and Brady was already looking at houses and it wasn't being said yet that Gronk was coming. So, Las Vegas would have had Brady and Gronk the year that the Bucs won the Super Bowl, except Gruden blew the deal up."

Gronkowski essentially confirmed the story when responding to White:

"And Dana, that is exactly what happened and you just told the story. It worked out for the best and I'm glad it did not go through."

The news of White contacting Brady is hardly a surprise, though. The UFC boss called the now-seven-time Super Bowl champion during an Instagram live session in March 2020 and pitched him on joining the Raiders:

"Las Vegas would love to have you here with the Raiders. The stadium, the facility is incredible. The training facility that they have outside of Vegas is unbelievable. It's a 45-minute flight from L.A. Your kids and your family could live there and fly back and forth. We want you to come to the Raiders. You know I've been pitching you now for a month. Come on, brother. Get to Vegas."

At the time, Brady said he was being patient and going through the process of searching for a new team for the first time in his career after a 20-year stint with the New England Patriots. However, based on White's story, it seems like he was more than ready to suit up for the Raiders.

The only question is why would Gruden put the kibosh on such a deal? Adding Brady and Gronkowski to an offensive unit that already included Darren Waller, Josh Jacobs and Hunter Renfrow could have put the Raiders among the NFL's elite.

Las Vegas went on to finish second in the AFC West with an 8-8 record during the 2020 campaign, and they missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season. It marked the third straight year the Raiders missed the playoffs in Gruden's return to the franchise. He previously coached the team from 1999 to 2001.

Brady and Gronkowski, meanwhile, teamed up to lead the Buccaneers to a second-place finish in the NFC South with an 11-5 record. They then bulldozed the Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs en route to a Super Bowl title.

You can put this down as arguably one of the biggest what-ifs in NFL history.