Tom Brady entered Saturday’s call of the game between the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders needing to clarify a few things.
He did, sort of.
Brady and broadcasting partner Kevin Burkhardt had a conversation around his role as minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders where he’s said to be involved in recruiting Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be a candidate for their head coaching position. Oddly, Burkhardt was the one who mentioned those details while Brady spoke in generalities devoid of any specifics.
“It’s just been a great learning experience,” replied Brady. “But you realize that the league is full of great potential. What I believe is the resumes, the accolades, they are all earned by what people do on the field. You earn your opportunities and do your performance. Let that ball do the talking. Just as it should be and just how I did when I was a player.”
That trend would carry on through the entire game where, for those paying attention, it became glaringly obvious that Brady seemed to be going out of his way not to mention Johnson by name.
The Athletic’s Dan Shanoff documented Brady’s insistence on staying silent when it came to Johnson, noting that the Fox broadcaster mentioned just about every major coach in the game by name except the one he’s linked to. Even with Burkhardt brought up Johnson specifically, Brady seemed to zip his lip.
Here’s Shanoff running down several moments that stood out.
When the broadcast resumed, to the Fox team’s credit, Burkhardt immediately said: “Ben Johnson dials up a trick play like no one else and they normally work, but that was a disaster.”
Brady: *Silence.*
After a 40-yard run by Austin Ekeler, Burkhardt returned to the decision: “Back to the trick play that failed … ”
Brady: “Tried to run something a little bit gimmicky … and at this point, Williams trying to make a decision, a non-quarterback, trying to throw the ball and read a defense and … not a great time for a trick play.”
But it was, theoretically, a great time to name-check “Ben Johnson,” who called the trick play.
There were also several instances where it seemed as though Brady might be referring to Johnson, but the vague nature of his words made it unclear.
SI’s Jimmy Traina was right to say that the conflict of interest that exists with Brady’s dual roles didn’t have a major impact on viewers. Most NFL fans watching at home probably didn’t even notice.
However, this is what critics have been alluding to when they raise concerns about the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s ability to speak freely in the booth. It does seem like he finds himself needing to self-edit around his Raiders responsibilities, which dampens the authenticity of the broadcast. It also makes you wonder what else Brady is not saying that someone like Greg Olsen or Tony Romo would share with those watching.
Being transparent was a good move by Brady and Fox. But the point of that was to allow him the ability to openly discuss every aspect of the game he’s calling. That wasn’t the case.