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The New York Jets did not make a call to Tom Brady after Aaron Rodgers was lost for the season to a torn Achilles, sources say, and the all-time great has made it very clear that he’s retired for real this time.
However, the door will officially remain open for Brady to play for any team -- at least until October and quite possibly longer.
Brady’s purchase of a minority stake in the Raiders has not been finalized, sources say. A vote could come as soon as next month’s Fall League Meeting, sources say, but there is still plenty to sort out with financing and plenty of information regarding a potential purchase still to be shared.
There’s no guarantee the process is done by October, which means the Winter League Meeting in December could be the time for Brady to finally and firmly close the door on playing in the NFL.
Buying a stake in an NFL team would effectively preclude Brady from playing again -- for the Raiders or anyone else -- under recently updated league bylaws.
Until then, the door remains open for Brady, who is currently a free agent, albeit at a time when he has repeatedly said that a door on a return is shut.
Any limited partner in an NFL team, regardless of how large of a stake they intend to purchase, must be approved by a three-fourths majority vote of owners. That vote has not yet happened on Brady’s pending purchase of the Raiders, sources say, and the transaction remains under review in accordance with the normal process for approving ownership.
After Rodgers' Achilles tear -- just four snaps into Monday night's game against the Bills -- speculation rose that Brady could receive a call from New York. One never came, and had one came, Brady would’ve taken no action, sources say.
The Jets have shown no interest in acquiring another veteran starting QB and are moving forward for now with former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson, who will start Sunday’s game at the Dallas Cowboys.
Brady spoke about his career in the past tense in a halftime ceremony during the Patriots' Week 1 loss to the Eagles in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where he was honored by the Pats, the team he led to six Super Bowl wins and 17 division titles in 19 seasons.
“All our lives take us on different journeys. They take us to different places. They bring different people into our lives,” Brady, who played his last three seasons in Tampa Bay before officially retiring after last season, said on Sept. 10. “But one thing I am sure of, and that will never change, is that I am a Patriot for life.”
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