Tom Brady found himself in a pickle last week after his comments criticized the game referees. The NFL opted to not fine him despite him violating the rules applicable to individuals in an ownership capacity. Brady’s unique position is a first for the league, as a part-owner of an NFL team has not been in a broadcasting role simultaneously.
With the seven-time Super Bowl champion performing both of his duties, there is bound to be a certain degree of conflict of interest that arises. Veteran journalist Dan Patrick expressed his concern regarding the league’s soft spot for Tom Brady and questioned his ability to stay unbiased while broadcasting games.
Tom Brady is not allowed to enter the locker rooms of other teams, attend broadcast production meetings, or the facilities of another team. However, as a broadcaster, he would be required to do these things to perform his job well.
I wonder they fired the entire offensive staff with the Raiders loss, Tom Brady’s doing the game, isn’t he? Did Tom know what was going on as a minority owner? I don’t know if he’s doing double duties where he’s doing the game but he’s also being informed ‘By the way, we’re going to release the entire offensive staff here.’ It’s problematic with Tom trying to do both of these things.
Dan Patrick on his show
“It’s problematic with Tom trying to do both of these things.”
-DP on Tom Brady’s roles as a minority owner of the #Raiders and the leader broadcaster for FOX pic.twitter.com/8wrVmNovcA
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) November 5, 2024
Dan Patrick addressed Tom Brady’s knowledge of the Raiders’ impending decision to part ways with three of their coaching staff. While the decision was announced, the former NFL quarterback was involved in his role with FOX Sports.
Dan Patrick is concerned about Tom Brady’s interactions with players on other teams
He further went on to cite an example showcasing how simple it would be for Brady to violate the terms applicable to an owner while he is performing his job as a broadcaster.
He’s not allowed to go into the meetings. Now, can he get that information? Yes, but if you said Tom Brady got to go in the locker room and say to Patrick Mahomes, ‘I’m curious about this,’ chances are Mahomes is going to tell Tom that, but he’s not allowed to exchange information or get information because he works for the Raiders- crazy, problematic.
Dan Patrick added
There is an obvious conflict of interest in this situation but the NFL will express reluctance toward penalizing Tom Brady.
Tom Brady (Image via AP)
These are uncharted waters for the NFL. This should not preclude the league from holding Tom Brady accountable for his actions. The man is known to perform his duties by giving it his all, but he finds himself in a position where he would be breaking one or more rules of ownership.
Brady’s career as a broadcaster is more challenging than his peers because he will need to avoid making certain comments that could land him in trouble. In addition to this, he has to stay unbiased and call it as he sees it when he broadcasts games of the Raiders. Ironically, the former NFL quarterback was criticized for having a special set of rules when he was playing and now, that continues to be the case.
They’ve got Tom Brady rules, and that’s unfortunate here. They allowed him to be a minority owner and he’s also a lead broadcaster for FOX, no.
Dan Patrick concluded
It is surprising to see that his role as a broadcaster did not come up during the league’s process of vetting him as a potential owner but the pros of having him would outweigh the cons.
