Tom Brady is set to dive into his analyst role for Fox this coming NFL season, a move that has been highly anticipated ever since his retirement from the NFL. But according to Mike Tirico, Brady’s attempt at accruing an ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders does complicate things with Fox a bit.
The NFL is still having conversations about whether or not Brady’s ownership stake will be approved by the league. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell offered a recent update on the matter, saying that “progress is being made” on a looming decision about Brady’s potential ownership stake, but that there are “still problems”.
In his news conference from the Spring Meeting in Nashville, Commissioner Roger Goodell says “progress is being made” on Tom Brady owning a piece of the #Raiders. But issues remain.
Goodell also said, of a potential 18-game season, there isn’t a current conversation, but…
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 22, 2024
One problem that Goodell may be referring to here is a potential conflict of interest regarding Brady’s looming analyst role at Fox.
As an NFL broadcaster, you are required to spend time in the locker rooms of whatever game you are calling that week to get some insight that will ultimately help you on the call of the game. But if Brady is also a part-owner of the Raiders, that information learned on the job at Fox could very well be relayed by Brady to his Raiders.
Naturally, there appears to be some pause about allowing Brady to both work as an analyst at Fox and be a minority owner of the Raiders.
During a recent guest appearance on the What the Football Podcast with Suzy Shuster and Amy Trask, Mike Tirico expressed these exact same concerns about Brady’s business venture.
“This is a fascinating one,” said Tirico. I can tell you from personal experience that I had working with Jon Gruden, some people felt uncomfortable. Jay Gruden, Jon’s brother, was a coordinator on a certain team. Some people felt uncomfortable about Jon telling Jay things. That was the furthest thing from the truth. But there are people in the NFL that have the most massive case of paranoia out there.
“It would create a different and unique dynamic. I do see the concern some owners would have. I see some of the GMs and head coaches raising that level of concern. But I think it just comes down to the respect you have for Tom. He’s a unique guy. He’s a guy that has been around for a long time. I would assume that most of the people in the league from an information standpoint on a broadcast would trust him. Now, does the league feel comfortable with having someone who has ownership of a team being in the booth? I would guess that it would be okay. But it’s the Raiders, so you never know.”
You have to assume that there are still concerns around the NFL about Brady potentially having these conflicting ventures on his hands. Otherwise, his ownership deal with the Raiders would likely already be a done deal.
It sure seems like if Brady had to choose one venture or the other, he would likely back off of his ownership of the Raiders and still pursue his Fox analyst gig. But only time will tell whether he will be allowed to do both.
