Tom Brady is more likely to become an owner of the Dolphins than the team’s quarterback

[The Dolphin]

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Rumors of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady landing in Miami have made the rounds for several weeks. Last week, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross threw cold water on the possibility (a tampering tightrope) by questioning why Brady would want to join forces with a team that is rebuilding. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins are indeed “unlikely to strongly pursue Brady” in free agency.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the Dolphins will turn up their rostrums at adding Brady if Brady wants to tell Jim Gray that he’s taking his talents to South Beach.

“We’re a team that’s building, and I don’t know why he’d really want to come to the Dolphins. He’s been one of the fiercest competitors there is and we’re at the stage with the Dolphins trying to really build a team for the future,” Ross said last week, via Jackson.

Jackson addressed another idea that has been making the rounds regarding Brady and the Dolphins. An unnamed source “could not rule out” the possibility that Brady will eventually become a minority owner of the Dolphins. That would happen after Bruce Beal buys the team from Ross, something that Beal will do whenever Ross ends his ownership of the team. Ross said last week that he won’t be selling the team in his lifetime.

The Brady-to-Miami rumors got started because of a belief in some circles that Ross would be selling to Beal sooner than later. As one source put it, they were simply waiting for the Super Bowl, hosted by Ross in Miami, to come and go before doing the deal. Friday’s comments from Ross change that analysis dramatically.

So here’s the takeaway: If Ross were to change his mind and sell to Beal in the near future, perhaps the push for Brady would be more aggressive — and perhaps Brady would be inclined to entertain the interest. As it stands, however, a Ross-owned team becomes less likely to be a player in landing a player like Brady.