Tom Brady being spotted in the Las Vegas Raiders coach’s booth on Monday caused quite a stir.
But he didn’t do anything that went against the rules of being FOX’s No. 1 broadcaster and a minority owner of the Raiders.
“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in the statement obtained by ESPN. “Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner.
“All personnel sitting in the booth must abide by policies that prohibit the use of electronic devices other than league-issued equipment such as a Microsoft Surface Tablet for the Sideline Viewing System.”
In Brady’s first year as a broadcaster, he faced several restrictions because of his ownership stake in the Raiders, including:
Not permitted to be in another team’s facility
Not permitted to witness practice
Not permitted to attend broadcast production meetings, either in person or virtually
Prohibited from publicly criticizing game officials and other clubs
Subject to the NFL’s gambling policy
Subject to the NFL’S anti-tampering policy
Those restrictions were loosened this year, but Brady still can’t attend practices, which McCarthy confirmed in his statement. Brady also cannot go into a team’s facility for practices or production meetings.
“He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel,” McCarthy said. “He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple times, including for the Super Bowl.”
Brady’s job at FOX puts him in an interesting spot as Raiders minority owner. At some point, some of the teams from the games Brady calls will play the Raiders, including the Chicago Bears and the Washington Commanders.
The Commanders play the Raiders in Week 3 and Brady was on the call for Washington’s Week 1 game. Brady is also on the call for the Bears game on Sunday before the Raiders play them in Week 4.
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