In a twist of figure-this-out-as-we-go juggling between the intersecting interests of Tom Brady, the NFL said Thursday that Brady will not be barred from broadcasting Las Vegas Raiders games, despite his 5 percent ownership stake in the team.
Under the guidelines of his minority ownership in the Raiders, Brady cannot be inside another team’s facility, attend another team’s practices or take part in crucial pre-production meetings and interviews with coaches, executives and players.
However, the rest of the Fox broadcasting crew that Brady works with will still have that access. And according to NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller, coaching staffs will not have the ability to prohibit the rest of Brady’s fellow Fox broadcasting crew from their normal access to teams during their pre-production process.
“No, there’s no aspect of the rule that would permit coaches to have that discretion,” Miller said on a Thursday conference call with reporters, in response to a question about whether coaches could bar other members of the Fox broadcasting crew that works with Brady.
Brady’s stake in the Raiders was approved by unanimous vote at this week’s NFL owners meetings in Atlanta.
Having a minority owner of a team also serve as a lead broadcaster of NFL games is new territory for the league. But the NFL’s approach appears to be one of juggling and resolving any potential issues or unseen implications as they arise. Amongst the other agreements that Brady has to abide by in his broadcasting duties, he will have a limited scope in his criticisms of the league’s officiating, as well as criticisms of other franchises, including owners. If, for example, Brady were to make disparaging remarks about an owner similar to the one Bill Belichick made about New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, he could be subject to a fine or suspension.
However, the potential point of contention with the intersection between Brady’s job at Fox and his partial ownership of the Raiders will continue to center on the information that he can access through his broadcast duties. While Brady cannot take part in a large part of the pre-production gathering process for the games he covers, there is not a known boundary restricting his access from the information that the rest of the Fox crew gathers in his absence.
In theory, that lack of a boundary raises potential questions about whether Brady — and subsequently the Raiders — could have access to inside information that gives Las Vegas an edge in various areas.
One NFC executive raised some of the potential ramifications following Brady’s approval as a Raiders minority owner earlier this week.
“Those [production] meetings, there are always a lot of questions about the roster or certain positions, and there’s nothing stopping — other than someone putting the clamps on it — there’s nothing stopping a coach from sharing something in confidence that wouldn’t go out on the air,” the executive said. “Now, if [Brady] gets that information, maybe he knows something internally about our team that can help the Raiders.”
Asked for a specific example, the executive pointed to the trade deadline, posing a scenario involving Amari Cooper and Brady having covered a Cleveland Browns game.
“What if during meetings [Brady’s booth-mate] Kevin Burkhardt finds out that Amari and Deshaun [Watson] are having some problem, or there’s some lost confidence in him or whatever,” the executive posed. “That’s a good thing to know if you’re looking for a receiver.
“Amari is probably a bad example because he already played for the Raiders. But [Brady] has done some Cowboys games, so let’s say it’s Brandin Cooks, instead. If the Raiders are in the market for a receiver at the deadline and he’s got some insight that the Cowboys are kind of done with Cooks, that’s helpful for the Raiders to know. It’s information that can be used against Dallas, knowing they are done with the guy. [Raiders owner] Mark Davis is already saying [Brady is] going to be a big part of their football decisions, so how do you separate those two worlds?”
For now, it appears to be a question the league, Fox and Brady are all willing to grapple with. Time will tell if that continues to be the case as Brady’s role inside the Raiders becomes more defined — and if the Raiders can turn a corner as a franchise. If and when that happens … when things like playoff seeds are up in the air and every bit of information is at a premium … attitudes may change.
