Tom Brady already faces several restrictions as he juggles his roles as part-owner of the Raiders and as an announcer for FOX Sports. As the iconic QB’s television gig continues to evolve, the NFL may implement even more rules to prevent any competitive advantages for the Las Vegas franchise.
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According to Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, some NFL owners recently discussed complications surrounding Brady’s one-on-one player interviews. The league pointed to a recent chat between Brady and Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, and there are concerns that the NFL may need to create additional conditions “to ensure Brady does not receive information he shouldn’t as a Raiders partner.”
Specifically, the NFL is considering restricting Brady to “live or recorded interviews for broadcast only,” which will ensure that his conversations are shared publicly. The NFL would also prohibit Brady from having private one-on-one conversations with players, and the NFL could force Brady to conduct broadcast interviews outside of team facilities and even outside of team hotels. The interviews could also require prior approval and monitoring by the league.
The NFL has already prohibited Brady from attending pregame production meetings with coaches/players. Brady is also barred from visiting opposing teams’ practice facilities, and he’s not allowed to publicly criticize officials. As Fischer notes, these restrictions are common for any team owners, although they naturally provide some obstacles for Brady as a broadcaster. According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, one team attempted to waive these restrictions and allow Brady to attend a pre-production meeting. However, the NFL refused, and Florio says there was a sense that neither FOX Sports nor their broadcaster were interested “in pushing back.”
Beyond Brady’s announcing role, the former QB’s role as a Patriots team ambassador is also under the microscope. The future Hall of Famer will always be connected to the franchise, and per Fischer, he agreed in 2023 to occasionally attend Patriots events. The league is debating whether it’s “appropriate” for Brady to have a role with one team while serving as a part-owner of another franchise.
If the finance committee decides to act on any of these restrictions, the matter could be taken up by all of the league’s owners. NFL owners are set to meet in mid-December.
This is just getting ridiculous. Don’t let him interview anyone and be done with it. NFL either should not have let him buy part of the Raiders or become an announcer. They were under no obligation to allow either. They made money off Brady buying in. They do not make money off him announcing. Him announcing was not a bargaining chip in the last TV deal from what I remember.
The fact that apparently it didn’t occur to some people until now that Tom’s conflict of interest could potentially pose serious issues is beyond mind-boggling to me.
Why so many workarounds for a subpar broadcaster? Especially with so many actual professionals who would take far smaller contracts to call games.
This dude getting $100 million and being told to do less work every week. Some guys have all the luck.
Raiders could have 13 guys on defense and still lose. I don’t think braady talking to people makes a d amn of difference