Tom Brady has an ally in Dan Orlovsky

Amid all the concern over Tom Brady being an active NFL owner and a lead game analyst for Fox, Dan Orlovsky doesn’t think it’s a big deal.

Brady spent Sunday in a Fox broadcast booth and Monday in the Las Vegas Raiders coaches’ box. And as it becomes evident that Brady is a more active minority owner than anyone may have initially thought, there are mounting concerns about his five percent stake interest in the Raiders being a conflict of interest with his job as a Fox broadcaster.

During this week’s Monday Night Football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Brady was seen in the Raiders coaches’ box with a headset on. In addition to being in the coaches’ box, ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported Brady has several conversations with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly about game plans every week. Tuesday afternoon, Orlovsky, who was calling the game for ESPN, went on NFL Live and basically said, nothing to see here.

“I think it only impacts his ability to call a game,” Orlovsky said after witnessing Brady’s active role with the Raiders. “I don’t think it brings integrity into the equation. Those meetings, it’s about relationships. If you know coaches and or players really well and you’ve built that relationship, you can get some good information about maybe what the plan versus a defense in that game.”

“I don’t think Tom’s gathering this season-changing information that he’s going to be able to acquire to bring back to the Raiders that’s gonna help them win a game three or four weeks down the road,” Orlovsky continued. “Do I think it could potentially impact his ability to call a game? Sure. He’s also the greatest quarterback of all time.”

Last season, the NFL placed restrictions on Brady as a broadcaster for Fox because of his minority ownership with the Raiders. Those restrictions have since been relaxed, with the NFL allowing Brady to participate in production meetings this season.

There are NFL coaches who won’t even tell the media which knee a player injured out of fear it could impact the opposition’s game plan. It’s hard to imagine those same coaches now being okay with Brady collecting information in their facility for Fox, while also knowing he’s going to be gameplanning with Chip Kelly and the Raiders during the week.

Despite Brady seemingly holding conflicting jobs, Orlovsky is opting to take a have a more laissez-faire attitude toward the issue, and he’s not alone. There are many people wondering why it’s a big deal that Brady is working for Fox while being an active owner with the Raiders. And maybe Brady will do his best to ensure his responsibilities for both remain entirely separate. But it’s not a big deal until it is. And it’s irrefutable that there isn’t at least the potential for Brady’s jobs to conflict with each other.