It's one thing to have an unsuccessful season, but it's another to make waves in NFL headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The Las Vegas Raiders season in 2024 was defined by a combination of these two struggles, as the team failed to win a divisional game and embarrassed themselves in the media along the way.
Here were the biggest controversies and headlines from a year to forget for the Raiders.
1. Quarterback battle in training camp
This defined the Raiders' season in more ways than one.
As Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell battled to be under center in Week 1 for Las Vegas, it became apparent that neither player had what it took to lead this franchise to success in a loaded AFC West landscape.
Quarterback play was largely what held Las Vegas back in 2024, and it cost both Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco their jobs. Failure to address the most important position on the field in the offseason paired with Pierce choosing the wrong player to begin the season was all the Raiders needed to have an embarrassing year.
2. Antonio Pierce's 'business decisions' comment
As if it wasn't bad enough getting dismantled by the Andy Dalton-led Carolina Panthers at home in Week 3, head coach Antonio Pierce made matters worse when he accused several players on his team of making "business decisions" in a blowout game.
Though it was never confirmed, many fans felt that Pierce was talking about Jack Jones, who he benched for the first quarter of the following week, and veteran wide receiver Davante Adams, which ruffled some feathers.
Pierce's failure to keep team issues in-house was a problem for the Raiders, who won the following week against a pitiful Cleveland Browns team but then lost 10 games in a row afterward.
Decisions like this are surely why Pierce was only given one season at the helm.
3. The Davante Adams trade saga
Just as he forced his way into Las Vegas, the aging wide receiver forced his way out.
A week after Pierce's "business decisions" comment, Adams was suddenly unavailable to play due to an injury, which magically healed the week he was finally traded to the New York Jets in exchange for what turned out to be a third-round pick.
After weeks of ominous social media posts and petty comments on his weekly segment of the Kay Adams Show, the dramatic saga finally ended when he was shipped off to New York and reunited with Aaron Rodgers, who heroically led them to a 5-12 record.
4. Raiders fire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy
During the bye week, the Las Vegas Raiders finally parted with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who was having a historically bad season as the team's playcaller.
Even though Davante Adams vouched for him, it turns out that pairing a failed coordinator with a journeyman backup quarterback like Gardner Minshew was not a recipe for success. Las Vegas also had the worst rushing attack in the entire league.
His performance also got offensive line coach James Cregg and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello fired, and Scott Turner took over as the offensive coordinator.
Getsy was not Pierce's first choice in the hiring cycle, but he was stuck with him, and may have lost his job because of it.
5. Tom Brady (and Richard Seymour) become minority owners
Finally, some positivity.
News broke midseason that Brady and Seymour would buy minority stakes in the franchise, with Brady owning 7.5% and Seymour 2.5%.
This may not have felt like significant news to everyone at the time, and surely some Raiders fans still hold animosity toward Brady because of the tuck rule. But fans love Seymour from his time in Oakland and now that Brady appears to be a major catalyst in the search for the Raiders' next head coach, fans have warmed to the greatest quarterback of all time.
If he could land a top-tier candidate like Ben Johson, perhaps all would be forgiven, and this would be the biggest news to come out of the 2024 season for the Raiders.