Tom Brady could face ‘severe’ restrictions in Fox broadcasting role

We are just over a week away from Tom Brady’s broadcasting debut on the lead Fox broadcast team. But on Tuesday, NFL owners learned that Brady could face some significant challenges in his new role that correlate with his intention to join the ownership group of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Brady and Raiders owner Mark Davis agreed back in May to have Brady join the team’s ownership group. But the move has yet to be passed by the NFL’s finance committee.

If the move is cleared by the NFL’s finance committee, Brady would also need to have at least 24 of the league’s 32 owners approve the agreement for it to be allowed.

It now turns out that Brady’s pursuit of this ownership stake in the Raiders could have some severe repercussions on his looming broadcasting career.

According to ESPN Senior Writer Seth Wickersham, a presentation given to owners at Tuesday’s NFL meetings in Minneapolis, detailing a number of restrictions Brady would face if he were to simultaneously serve his analyst role at Fox while also owning a stake in the Raiders.

These restrictions include being prohibited from publicly criticizing game officials and other clubs, being subject to the league’s gambling policy, being permitted only “strictly social communication with members of other clubs”, and being subject to other applicable league policies common to other owners.

Wickersham also detailed that according to a league source, owners have “raised several questions about conflicts of interest in Brady’s potential role.”

This would create some very obvious logistical problems with Brady’s broadcasting career when you consider that it is quite common for broadcasters to meet with coaches and players ahead of games they are calling to help with some of the finer details around the upcoming game.

It also wouldn’t be a short-term issue considering Brady signed a 10-year contract $375 million deal with the network in March. 

However, there are guidelines in place for a broadcaster with a perceived bias to do the job under these regulations. Brady’s predecessor on Fox’s top broadcast team, Greg Olsen, similarly had these restrictions back in 2017 for Fox when he was a member of the Carolina Panthers because he called numerous games, including one of the Minnesota Vikings who were set to play the Panthers weeks later.

It may not be impossible for Brady to both work as a Fox broadcaster and hold an ownership stake in the Raiders. But it is certainly a roadblock for him that may simply make him want to choose between the two ventures.

[ESPN]