Much has been made of how being an NFL team owner will impact his ability to be an impartial commentator for Fox, let alone how he will do the job well despite the myriad restrictions.
However, there’s another layer to Brady’s new status as a member of the ownership class that hasn’t come up much. How does that impact the way he talks about players in situations involving a fellow team owner? Furthermore, can his opinion be considered independent from team owners when criticizing a player?
During the Thanksgiving Day game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, the Fox broadcaster offered his thoughts on the Daniel Jones situation. Specifically, he questioned Jones’ decision to ask for his release from the franchise when he was benched for the remainder of the season, presumably ending his time with the team.
“I don’t know how the whole situation went down but to think that you would ask for a release from a team that committed a lot to you is maybe different than I would have handled that,” said Brady. “I always felt I wanted to get the trust and respect of my teammates regardless of the situation, knowing that I was trying to do the best I could for the team because that was the most important thing.
“There are some different things that happen in the NFL and everyone makes individual choices and I think we all at points in our career face different challenges. I faced them in college and some things didn’t go the way I wanted. But the people that mattered the most to me were the guys in the locker room. I showed up every day. I don’t care if they asked me to be scout-team safety, be scout-team quarterback. I was going to do whatever I could to help the team win.”
Team owner Tom Brady throws some shade at Daniel Jones for requesting his release from the Giants after getting benched pic.twitter.com/tve9TXOMf4
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 28, 2024
First off, none of this is too shocking from what we know of Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl champion has always preached this kind of team-first mentality and it’s hard to argue with him given all of his accomplishments.
That said, it’s impossible to separate Brady’s ownership status from the way he opened up his criticism. He admonished Jones specifically because the Giants had given him a big contract, effectively saying that the quarterback should have just sucked it up and waited for the team to decide his fate in the offseason.
That’s exactly the kind of thing an owner would say.
Now, both things can be true. Tom Brady the former quarterback can say he would be the scout-team safety if that’s what was asked of him (which is very easy for him to say, tbh). Tom Brady the NFL team owner can also want to send a message that he thinks players should honor their contracts and put the franchise ahead of themselves in all situations.
Maybe Brady is coming at it 100% from the quarterback version, but he doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt anymore. And that’s just part of the deal he’s struck for himself as an owner/broadcaster. Even if it’s not what’s happening, perception is reality.
