Fox Sports analyst and former New York Giants star Michael Strahan is eyeing a new title: Owner.
According to a report by Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico, Strahan is pursuing an investment in his former team alongside billionaire businessman Marc Lasry, who formerly co-owned the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. Per the report, roughly 10% of the Giants is up for sale by the Mara and Tisch families. Strahan and Lasry are seeking “a piece of that,” as the current ownership wants to find two or three buyers for the minority stake.
Concerns over a conflict of interest are immediately relevant. Just as Tom Brady faced scrutiny last season—his first as Fox Sports’ lead NFL analyst and also his first as a co-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders—Strahan will likely face similar questions.
Of course, concerns over Strahan’s neutrality are less severe than Brady’s, given that the former is a studio analyst while the latter calls games for Fox. Game analysts generally have direct access to coaches and players throughout the week and even visit team facilities, while studio analysts do not.
As was well-documented last season, the NFL instituted rules that prevented Brady from entering team facilities and banned him from participating in production meetings to prevent conflicts of interest with his ownership role.
Nevertheless, it is notable that another member of the NFL media is getting involved in the league from an ownership perspective.
