Much was made of the restrictions placed on Fox broadcaster Tom Brady as he moved through the process of becoming a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
That process was finalized this week and the full list of things Brady isn’t allowed to do raised eyebrows once more.
He can’t attend production meetings. He can’t have access to players or coaching personnel before calling games. He can’t publically criticize officials or other NFL teams.
While these restrictions don’t make it impossible to call an NFL game, they certainly empty the toolbox that even seasoned veterans of the profession rely on to make their jobs easier.
This is to say nothing of the fact that, eventually, Brady will call a Raiders game. He’s still allowed, somehow. And so the possibility exists that at some point soon Brady will be on the national call for a game between one team he’s not allowed to criticize versus a team he has a vested financial interest in propping up while without the ability to discuss anything the referees do to influence the outcome of the game.
Welcome to the Silver & Black, @TomBrady #LFG pic.twitter.com/XzjB85Ngo8
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 16, 2024
How is all of this allowed or even acceptable? In a lesson we’ve learned a few times over the past decade, the rules are only as strong as the ability or interest in enforcing them. And neither the NFL nor Fox seem like they’ll have too much interest in cracking down on their golden boy.
In the grand scheme of things, the NFL has far greater concerns. Gambling controversies, disturbing off-field incidents, and life-altering injuries are more worthy of attention than making sure a Week 7 game is called well. Still, once you start picking at the possibilities that Brady could take advantage of as a team owner/national broadcaster, it’s worth a closer look.
Majority Raiders owner Mark Davis pointed out that Brady will have a hand in finding their next franchise quarterback. If that’s through free agency, there’s nothing to stop Brady from buttering up potential targets during telecasts. Conversely, he’s free to nitpick how a quarterback doesn’t fit in his current offense or would benefit from a change of scenery.
What would be tampering to an owner is just analysis to a broadcaster.
There are also rumors that he might play a role in hiring the team’s next head coach. If that’s the case, what would prevent Brady from implying the impending openings in Jacksonville and New York aren’t worth pursuing?
When Brady eventually calls a Kansas City Chiefs or Los Angeles Chargers game, will his sentiments and criticisms be valid, or contain traces of divisional rivalry and a desire to undercut teams the Raiders directly compete with?
Fox is broadcasting the Super Bowl this season. The odds of the 2-4 Raiders making it there are slim to none. But those broadcast rights come back around in 2029. A lot can happen in four years, especially in the NFL. The possibility that Brady could be on the call for a Super Bowl featuring the team he owns just feels wrong, even if it’s technically not.
And that’s where this whole situation is likely to live. In the world of things that are “technically not wrong.”
Admittedly, these are small potatoes when it comes to things the NFL and its fans need to worry about. But it doesn’t make these concerns invalid. The rules that apply to Brady wouldn’t be applied the same to anyone else. The amount of scrutiny would almost certainly be more severe. It’s hard to imagine Greg Olsen, Kevin Harlan, or Pam Oliver getting all the same free passes.
Of course, it’s also hard to imagine those broadcasters becoming part of an ownership group. You have to be in rarified air to pull off what Brady has with not only his Raiders ownership but also his lucrative Fox broadcasting deal.
That’s ultimately the point. The rules apply, until you’re the kind of person for whom the rules don’t apply.
In that sense, Brady fits right in with the people who own NFL franchises.
