Tom Brady's dream of owning franchise like Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter crushed over Brian Flores lawsuit

For months, rumors have been rife in the NFL world that Tom Brady wanted to become part owner of the Miami Dolphins. It was purely speculation until the NFL released their report into the complaints raised by Brian Flores.

Contained with the Flores report was confirmation that Brady and the Dolphins had been in discussions for four years. Over the course of those controversial talks, Brady was offered a percentage of the franchise. The rumors are now facts.

NFL analyst Colin Cowherd believes that this revelation, together with the ongoing Flores lawsuit, has effectively ended Brady's hopes of becoming a team owner any time soon. Cowherd said:

"He's very close with his family. Super close. So that's my gut feeling on that. But I think what you and I are talking about is (here's where I've defended Brady), is that at the end of Michael Jordan's career, when he was with Chicago, he was talking to a poll and he wanted to own a team."

Cowherd continued:

"And Derek Jeter at the end got into ownership of a team. Peyton Manning talked to the Titans at the end. He wanted to talk about running or owning a team. LeBron has been mentioned as Vegas expanding in the NBA. LeBron would own part of the team. I do think Brady, and this is why I've not picked Tampa to be great this year."

Cowherd added:

"I've said he wanted to retire, he wanted to move in to business. And then because of the Brian Flores lawsuit, he pivots back and goes. And I think this is where I've defended Tom. He's got $500 million or $1,000,000,000 net worth with his wife and the Jeters and the Michaels and the LeBrons. I think this is a very natural move to okay, 'I got the legacy, I got the bag. I want to get into the ownership group.' So maybe I'm naive, naive on that, but I'm kind of giving Tom a pass on the Dolphin rumors."

Will Tom Brady be as successful as Michael Jordan regarding franchise ownership?

Michael Jordan at the New York Knicks v Charlotte Hornets

Tom Brady is seeking to follow in the footsteps of icons from other sports by going from a player to an owner. The list of stars who have made that jump is small, mainly because team ownership does not come cheap.

In 2010, after a decade of failed attempts to purchase the franchise, NBA legend Michael Jordan finally got his hands on the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats soon became the Hornets, as Jordan paid $180 million for a 97 percent stake.

Over the next twelve years, success on the court has been hard to come by for the Hornets. However, Jordan has undoubtedly benefited from a financial standpoint.

In 2021, Forbes valued the Charlotte-based franchise at $1.5 billion, nearly ten times what the six-time NBA champion paid. With that sort of return, it should be no surprise that Brady is keen to follow suit.

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If you use any of the quotes above, please credit The Herd with Colin Cowherd and H/T Sportskeeda.