⁠Tom Brady has spoken critically about the Las Vegas Raiders’ past season but expects a significant improvement for the upcoming season. He also has harsh words for the NFL.

Tom Brady had little reason to celebrate in his first season as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.

The franchise had a disastrous season, finishing with three wins and 14 losses. Brady is therefore voicing criticism, but remains confident that things will improve.

“I expect a significant improvement compared to what we’ve shown recently,” the 48-year-old said on the “Stick to Football” podcast. “Last year, we underperformed in every area. And we’re all responsible for that. That’s the reality. Nobody did a good job. There isn’t a single player in the organization—or anyone involved—who performed at the level required. Everyone needs to improve. And that starts with me and extends all the way down to the players on the field. Ultimately, they have to deliver at the highest level out there.“

”The last game of the season was usually the best”

The Raiders were the worst team in the NFL in 2025, which earned them the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. They used that pick to select Fernando Mendoza as their future quarterback.

When Brady was asked on the podcast how many wins he thinks his team can achieve in 2026, he didn’t want to commit to a number. “I expect a massive improvement. And I expect us to get better every day—yes, even every hour. I mean that seriously. If you’re a good team, you should get better with every day and every week. A good team has to be stronger at the end of the season than at the beginning. If that’s not the case, then you’re not a good team. If you spend more time together, practice more, and still get worse, then something is going terribly wrong,” he clarified.

“The problem, though, is the offseason: new players and new coaches come in, and then you have to work your way back up to the level you were at before. For many of the teams I’ve played for, our best game of the season was the last game of the year. To me, that says a lot about what a team stands for.”

Brady: “I hate that”

Brady also criticized the NFL in the podcast. He’s fed up with the system of fines for rule violations on the field.

“What happens is, they start slapping you with fines of $50,000 or $75,000. And I have to say: I hate that. I hate the fact that you sign a contract for two or five million dollars a year, and then someone just casually says, ‘Give me 75,000 dollars. Give me 50,000 dollars. Oh, that’s your second infraction? Then it’s 100,000 dollars. Your third violation? $200,000.” …

Brady has no sympathy for this: “What other job in the world works like that? You make a mistake at work, and then someone comes along and says, ‘We’ll just deduct a portion of your salary.’ And then people even say, ‘Yeah, exactly, take his money away.’”