Announcer Tom Brady looks on before an NFC wild card game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers at Lincoln Financial Field. Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

When it comes to the juxtaposition of Tom Brady’s role as a Fox broadcaster and his role as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, there seem to be two camps.

One is that there is a conflict of interest inherent in having both roles simultaneously. That conflict is summarized perfectly this weekend when Brady will call the playoff game between the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders while reportedly personally recruiting Lions OC Ben Johnson to interview for the Raiders head coaching vacancy. The presumption is that Brady might withhold criticism about Johnson’s playcalling or the Lions in general because he has a vested interest in keeping his candidate happy. Extrapolated further, it raises questions about how honest Brady will ever be about any coach or player that he might want to see in the black and silver.

On the other side are those who don’t think the conflict of interest exists, or, that nothing of consequence will happen due to any perceived conflict. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has defended Brady’s professionalism and thinks people are overreacting (Schefter has also previously downplayed Brady’s involvement in Raiders’ affairs).

SI’s Jimmy Traina is in that camp as well. He penned an article earlier this week calling conflict of interest concerns “nonsense.” He elaborated on that in the most recent episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina with guest Richard Deitsch.

The two sports media writers shared their thoughts on the issue with a friendly semantical battle.

“What is the conflict of interest and how it will affect the viewer?” Traina asked Deitsch.

“Because in theory, those who are calling games are supposed to be neutral observers of the game, correct?” rebutted Deitsch. “Or do you disagree with that fundamentally?”

“I don’t find Tom Brady to be a neutral observer,” said Traina. “When he’s calling a Bucs game, you think he’s a neutral observer?”

“I think the reality of it is that a lot of the analysts are absolutely not neutral observers,” added Deitsch. “Play-by-play people are.”

“But my point is this,” responded Traina. “I don’t think Tom Brady is going to be rooting for the Lions to beat the Commanders because he wants to hire Ben Johnson.”

Deitsch then launched into his point, which is that all Brady and Fox need to do is acknowledge the conflict publically, which will essentially deescalate all concerns.

“I agree, but, and here is what in my opinion Tom Brady owes the audience,” he said. “If Ian Rapoport is correct in his reporting that Tom Brady is recruiting Ben Johnson, you owe it to the audience at the start of that broadcast, between he and [Kevin] Burkhardt, to come out and talk about that and say ‘Yeah, in my other role, I’m doing this. I think this guy would be a great coach. I want everyone listening to know that I think the world of him.’ So, you put that out there. After that, fantastic, Tom. Now I can judge you based on how you talk about the Lions offense.”

Deitsch elaborated on this point in The Athletic on Thursday, saying that the issue has become distracting enough that he expects Fox to address it in some capacity.

“Viewers deserve transparency at a minimum, and what Fox Sports should do out of respect for the audience is have Brady and Burkhardt discuss — on-air — that Brady has been part of the process involving Johnson,” wrote Deitsch. “I expect the broadcast to address it in some form (Fox Sports brass knows this is all out there, and its top NFL team has a lead producer and director who are immensely respected across the industry), but how deep they address it, we’ll see.”

Brady’s agent said Thursday that despite speculation that he might step away from the role, the former quarterback intends to honor his 10-year deal with Fox. If that’s the case, something’s gotta give at some point regarding the nature of his dual roles, even if that simply means a public acknowledgment of some kind.

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.