Troy Aikman might have played before Tom Brady did, but he seems to be taking a page from the younger QB's book in trying to pull double-duty as an NFL commentator and an executive.
Aikman has been working as a consultant for the Miami Dolphins and stated recently that he intends to continue working for the team "in some capacity" for the foreseeable future. Naturally, that presents a possible conflict of interest with Aikman's work as a commentator and potentially violates league rules.
According to ProFootballTalk, the NFL is aware of the situation but is not ready to do anything about it. In an email to the outlet, the league said it would address the situation "at the appropriate time."
The Issue
PFT's Mike Florio pointed out that if Aikman is allowed to take advantage of the "Brady Rules," which impose only some restrictions on NFL executives from working in broadcast roles, to gain an advantage over other teams, it stands the risk of inviting teams to hire more and more broadcasters as consultants and employees to get the upper hand.
"If he's on the Miami payroll, he'll have an obligation to the Dolphins. He'll be able to gather and to share all sorts of information that he acquires as he travels from stadium to stadium, week in and week out," Florio explained.
"It's a relevant question - especially since the Brady Rules, as potentially adapted to Aikman, could spark an effort by more teams to hire broadcasters as consultants or employees. With the Raiders and Dolphins doing it, the teams that aren't are already at a disadvantage."
The extent of the restrictions on Brady in his own role as the No. 1 color commentator on FOX and a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders has been a restriction on attending practices leading up to games.
Beyond that, everything else is pretty much completely normal for a broadcaster.
Will Troy Aikman get the same treatment?
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