A Conflict of Interest Between Brady’s Broadcasting Gig and NFL Team Ownership?

Tom Brady now has two high profile roles in football: an owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and a lead NFL broadcaster for Fox. When Brady retired from football (again), Fox lured him in as an announcer with a 10-year, $375 million contract.[1] He started his announcing role this fall at the start of the season after taking a year off.

Only a few months after inking the Fox deal, Brady agreed to purchase a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.[2] The deal was finally approved on October 15, 2024. NFL owners may have been concerned over an apparent conflict of interest because commentators typically have deep access to NFL teams that could give him competitive insights that benefit the Raiders. Accordingly, the NFL imposed restrictions on Brady’s broadcasting as part of the approval of his ownership stake, with violations resulting in fines[3]:

Not permitted to be in another team’s facility.
Not permitted to witness practice.
Not permitted to attend broadcast production meetings.
Prohibited from publicly criticizing game officials and other clubs.
Subject to the league’s gambling policy.
Subject to the league’s anti-tampering policies.[4]

It is common for commentators to attend production meetings before games to talk with coaches and players to gain key insights. Commentators often attend mid-week practices to form their own opinion of how each player is performing that week. However, the restrictions on not entering any other team’s facility, watching practices, or attending broadcast production meetings mean that his commentary will be mostly limited to his observations of the actual game. ESPN’s Adam Schefter argued that Brady’s knowledge of the game and unique perspective could still allow him to do a great job as a commentator.[5]

However, the prohibition on publicly criticizing game officials, coaches, and players may be even more concerning. It is expected that a broadcaster can provide objective analysis of the game, including both positive and negative points. If the coach calls the wrong defensive coverage or the quarterback ran when a receiver was clearly open, can fans truly view Brady as objective when he can incur fines for being too critical?

This also seems to go against the ethos of journalism. Fox’s own Standards of Business Conduct states: “We do not let revenue sources dictate our news and opinion content. . . . And we resist all attempts to silence us.”[6] A vested ownership stake in one NFL team that affects Brady’s reputation and finances, accompanied by conditions that silence certain types of statements, seems to be the situation that these guidelines are supposed to prevent.

Brady’s transition from player to simultaneous owner and commentator presents dueling roles that he must balance carefully to avoid violating the NFL’s restrictions. Fans will ultimately decide whether Brady’s commentary is worth the cost to Fox or is too limited by these restrictions.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/02/06/brady-says-he-wont-join-foxs-nfl-broadcasts-until-2024-despite-reported-375-million-deal/

[2] https://www.npr.org/2024/10/16/nx-s1-5154883/tom-brady-las-vegas-raiders-owner-nfl

[3] https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/nfl/tom-brady-nfl-broadcast-restrictions-raiders/3956812/

[4] https://www.si.com/college/michigan/football/tom-brady-buys-stake-in-las-vegas-raiders-major-restrictions-calling-games-for-fox-nfl

[5] https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/adam-schefter-downplays-restrictions-tom-brady.html

[6] https://media.foxcorporation.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/2024/01/03075433/FOX-SBC-as-of-January-2024.pdf