Chris Russo shreds Tom Brady for conflict of interest while excusing Troy Aikman

Chris Russo is OK with Troy Aikman double-dipping as a broadcaster and NFL team advisor, but he draws the line at Tom Brady.

As the Las Vegas Raiders prepare for a total rebuild, the organization has confirmed it will lean heavily on its minority owner, Fox broadcaster and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady throughout the process. Similarly, Adam Schefter recently reported the Miami Dolphins hired Monday Night Football analyst Troy Aikman to help in their search for a new general manager.

Brady has stronger ties and influence over the Raiders as a minority owner, whereas Aikman is more of an advisor with the Dolphins. But there is the potential for both to be perceived as a conflict of interest. And Wednesday morning on First Take, Russo took the bait with Brady, but not Aikman.

“This is ridiculous, that the guy who is gonna call a game this weekend is gonna pick the Raiders coach and the quarterback and the No. 1 pick.” – Chris Russo is not happy with Tom Brady pic.twitter.com/BjH4223aF3

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 7, 2026

“I understand my buddy Aikman, he’s a consultant. He doesn’t own the team with the Dolphins. What is Brady doing?” Russo ranted in his What Are You Mad About segment. “The NFL is gonna allow Brady to call the games on Fox and also pick the Raiders coach? He’s an owner! You can do one of the other, you can’t do both! I mean, this is ridiculous that the guy who is gonna call a game this weekend is gonna pick the Raiders coach and the quarterback and the No. 1 pick.”

“Brady’s gonna sit there now and he’s gonna call the game this week in Philadelphia, and at the same time he’s gonna have he’s cell phone going on to see who’s a candidate to coach the Raiders,” Russo continued. “That’s bad. That is a bad look.”

It’s entirely reasonable to look at Brady being a prominent NFL broadcaster while simultaneously being involved in the Raiders coaching search as a conflict of interest. But you have to at least acknowledge the similarities in Aikman calling NFL games for ESPN while being involved in the Dolphins general manager search.

Russo gave Aikman a pass because he’s not an owner. But even if Russo does have a problem with Aikman advising the Dolphins, he probably wouldn’t go on First Take and shred the Monday Night Football announcer with the same vitriol he directed at Brady, because they’re ESPN colleagues. Which can kind of be viewed as a conflict of interest in itself. The conflict of interest accusations know no bounds.