What NFL ruling Matthew Stafford meeting w/ Tom Brady as 'not tampering' means

There is a consensus among NFL Insiders that have reported Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford met with Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady on the ski slopes of Montana. Per Fox Sports NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, Brady hosted Stafford at his home, and spent time together on the slopes as well as fireside chats. Per NFL Network's NFL Insider Ian Rapoport, the meeting was a chance occurrence on the slopes, and did not involve Brady hosting or recruiting Stafford to lure him to the Raiders.

But toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe, we can call the whole thing sauce. You see, regardless of the happenstance circumstances that led to the meeting, there is no harm, no foul because the LA Rams had already authorized Stafford and his agent to have conversations with other NFL teams.

Of course, the two conflicting narratives were not something that would blow over easily. With so many NFL decision-makers and power brokers in Indianapolis, Indiana to attend the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine event, the tumultuous social media encounter was bound to erupt at some point. That eruption happened when the two NFL personalities clashed at a Starbucks.

Hot rumors, hot heads, or just hot under the collar?

In the end, it really doesn't matter how the two sides ended up on the same Montana skil slopes at the same time. With the Rams affording both Matthew Stafford and his agent full access to any other NFL team, it all falls under the umbrella of safe harbor.

Of course, that has not prevented Tom Brady's agent from denying reports:

And NFL Insider Ian Rapoport shared even more clarifying details on the incident:

Ultimately, what does it matter? The entire hush-hush effort after the initial story got out seems more like trying to put a lid on how negotiations have progressed. If there was no progress, nobody involved in the story would care a hill of beans what was shared. If the two sides had gotten to a point where it was all over but the shouting, the story would be shared if for no other reason than to sound the Klaxon to other teams to call off their own efforts.

It feels like the Raiders have the pole position right now, making headway in persuading Matthew Stafford himself to have interest in playing for the Las Vegas Raiders and new HC Pete Carroll. But that is not to say that the Raiders have things locked down. And any news of the Raiders closing in on a deal will prompt other teams to raise their bids, forcing the Raiders to escalate their bid, or drop out of the running.

How much sway does Matthew Stafford have in deciding where he will be traded? If past practice is any indication, he will have a lot of influence over where he lands. If the Rams cannot reach agreement, and nothing is suggesting that they can at this point, the Raiders are certainly a team to watch.

While the New York Giants are extremely motivated to trade for Matthew Stafford, new reports suggest that they are pivoting to trading up for the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft:

If the Giants drop out of the Stafford sweepstakes, the Raiders are the clear and uncontested front runners.

Stay tuned. The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine is just getting started, and stories involving the Rams are already glowing red hot.

As always, thanks for reading.

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