Tom Brady and the Las Vegas Raiders will hire Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager John Spytek as their new general manager, it has been revealed.
Spytek, who spent a total of nine years in Tampa, became the Bucs' assistant general manager in 2023 after initially being named director of player personnel in 2016.
The 44-year-old was promoted to vice president of player personnel five years later, a position he held for two seasons before moving up to assistant GM under Jason Licht.
But after completing his second season as Jason Licht's right-hand man, he is now ready to take the top job in Las Vegas and reunite with former college teammate Brady, who won the Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in 2020.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirmed Wednesday that Spytek has agreed to become GM for the Raiders, who recently fired Tom Telesco after just one year.
Telesco's firing came just a few days after head coach Antonio Pierce also got the boot at Allegiant Stadium. The moves came at the end of a miserable season in which the Raiders went 4-13.
Buccaneers assistant GM John Spytek is joining the Raiders as their new general manager
Tom Brady has been helping Las Vegas chiefs find a new general manager and head coach in recent weeks
Brady, who acquired a minority stake in the Raiders last year, helped the franchise in recent weeks in its search for a new general manager and head coach.
While they have yet to find a replacement for Pierce, he has helped them bring in a new GM in Spytek – someone he knows very well.
In addition to spending time together in Tampa, Spytek and Brady were also teammates together at Michigan in 1999, before the latter entered the NFL as the 199th overall pick with New England.
Spytek, meanwhile, ventured into scouting after graduating from college with a bachelor's degree in general studies and a master's degree in sports management.
The Raiders become only the second franchise in the Super Bowl era to enter a season with a new GM and coach three years in a row. The 2012-14 Cleveland Browns are the other club to achieve such an award.
Brady's apparent influence in hiring a new general manager for Las Vegas comes amid criticism of his role as a Fox Sports commentator.
The legendary quarterback has reportedly played an integral role in their head coach and general manager search in recent weeks after conducting interviews with a number of potential candidates.
His heavy involvement in Las Vegas has led many to question his impartiality as a commentator for Fox; including when he worked Saturday's Commanders-Lions game, not long after interviewing then-Detroit OC Ben Johnson.
Spytek spent a total of nine years with Tampa Bay, including two as assistant general manager
Brady's influence in hiring a new Raiders GM comes amid criticism of his role at Fox Sports
Many have questioned his impartiality after he became a minority owner in Las Vegas
Despite calls for him to be fired by the network, Brady has ruled out an early departure from Fox within one season of his 10-year, $375 million contract.
“I don't know where it comes from,” he said on FS1's “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd. “I know there's always 'sources close to Brady' or whatever, but I had the best time at Fox and I loved every time I went into the booth and worked with such great people.
'To see what it's like from a different perspective: I've played on the field for so many years, I've watched so many games from the sidelines, now I'm up there in the booth and I'm watching it from a different perspective, and I enjoyed it of the whole process of diving into all these different teams. It has been enormous growth for me in one year.
“I really can't wait to see what it looks like in year two and well beyond. I have nine years left on my deal and maybe longer, you never know…
“If Fox wants me and I want to go [on]We'll just keep going because it's been a lot of fun so far.'
