Tom Brady Reportedly Wasn't 'In Favor' of Raiders Signing Sam Darnold to Contract

Tom Brady may have influenced the Las Vegas Raiders' decision not to pursue Sam Darnold in free agency.

According to The Athletic's Michael Silver, Brady "was not in favor" of the Raiders attempting to sign Darnold.

Brady has been a minority owner of the Raiders since last October. Silver noted that his "opinion held great sway" with the franchise.

Darnold ultimately signed a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks, while the Raiders traded for Geno Smith before inking him to a two-year extension in April.

Both Silver and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported in February that the Raiders were expected to explore quarterback options including Darnold after Matthew Stafford re-committed to the Los Angeles Rams.

Darnold hit free agency this winter after the best season of his career came to a disappointing end with the Minnesota Vikings.

The quarterback led the Vikings to a 14-2 record to start the season, but struggled in the last two games of the campaign as Minnesota missed out on the NFC's top seed in the regular season finale before bowing out of the postseason with a Wild Card loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

The Raiders meanwhile entered the offseason in clear need of a quarterback after Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew II both failed to secure the QB1 position last season.

The Athletic's Dan Pompei reported in May that Raiders head coach Pete Carroll drove the push to trade for Smith, but that Brady "endorsed" the Seahawks' decision.

General manager John Spytek told Pompei about Brady's influence on the Seahawks' decisions: "When we are looking at quarterbacks, we’d have to be fools not to involve him. Tom is the foremost expert on quarterback play I’ve ever been around.”

Spytek also told Pompei that Brady "really respected Geno — the way he can process and throw the football."

It sounds like the Raiders didn't get a similarly positive response from Brady about their potential pursuit of Darnold.

Darnold will now look to prove Brady wrong in his first season with the Seahawks. The two teams are set to face one another when the preseason opens on Aug. 7.