NFL's Roger Goodell: Tom Brady's Purchase of Stake in Raiders 'Making Progress'

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave an update on Tom Brady's prolonged efforts to purchase a stake in the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday.

"I wouldn't say it's a delay," Goodell told reporters at the NFL's annual league meetings in Orlando. "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."

The Raiders and Brady notably reached an agreement in May, but the league has yet to officially approve the deal.

Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported the following on Feb. 11 regarding the proposal:

"Brady's pending investment in the Raiders was recently altered to reflect the proper valuation of the team, and league sources say he has reached the threshold to clear the NFL's hurdles and officially join the ranks of ownership.

"The plan is for the NFL's Finance Committee to consider Brady's investment on March 4 or 5 when members meet in New York, sources say. If all goes well, final approval should happen at the NFL Annual League Meeting in Orlando from March 24-27."

That plan isn't coming to fruition, however. As noted by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Brady needs approval from at least 24 owners. However, the membership is not voting on the matter this week, meaning the next chance for them to do so will be in May when owners meet again.

As Mark Maske of the Washington Post noted last week, it was unlikely for owners to vote on the matter this week.

There were two issues at play on the bid, which involves Brady and Knighthead Capital Management co-founder Tom Wagner attempting to purchase a 10 percent stake in the team.

First was the NFL finance committee's concern that Raiders owner Mark Davis was offering a stake at a deep discount, though as the NFL Network reported, Brady's investment was "recently altered to reflect the proper valuation of the team."

The finance committee consists of eight owners, and their recommendations on ownership sales have great weight when it comes to eventual approval from the league.

The second issue is that Brady is about to start a job as FOX's No. 1 game analyst, on a 10-year, $375 million deal. That could certainly present a conflict of interest, especially with analysts getting pregame insight from coaches and players before games as part of their usual weekly preparations.

"Some owners might be reluctant to allow Brady, if he is a part owner of the Raiders, into their training facilities or onto their practice fields as part of his broadcast preparations," Maske noted.

Ultimately, as Goodell said, it does appear that the sides are moving towards the deal getting done. However, it's also clear that this deal isn't cut-and-dry, leading to a prolonged process despite Davis and Brady coming to an agreement 10 months ago.