Tom Brady
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There is, seemingly, a double standard for Tom Brady as a broadcaster and part owner. Now, it appears that has created an opportunity to cheat.
Since his retirement, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has still been incredibly active around the NFL. Along with becoming a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, he’s a constant presence for fans on TV as a broadcaster for Fox.
It’s that double life as a broadcaster and part-owner that caused some fans to raise eyebrows. After all, broadcasters have unique access to locker rooms and information that he could, hypothetically, turn around and use to his team’s benefit.
That led the NFL to set up special rules for Brady as a broadcaster. Among those rules are not being able to watch practice, enter team facilities, and be overly critical of teams or officials. However, since then, the league has loosened those restrictions.
Now, Tom Brady isn’t the only major broadcaster who is going to be tied directly to a team. Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman has recently joined the Miami Dolphins in a consultant role, once again opening up questions about what information he may share with the team and if that constitutes cheating.
Troy Aikman Shared How the Miami Dolphins are Using Him
Troy Aikman
GettyFormer NFL quarterback turned broadcaster Troy Aikman
Dallas beat writer Clarence Hill Jr. recently interviewed Troy Aikman for the DLLS Dallas Cowboys Podcast. There, he shared some insight into what his role is going to look like with the Dolphins.
“I think the Dolphins were wise in understanding my relationships around the league and knowing that I have information that they don’t have or can’t get,” Aikman said. “And I think they were smart in taking advantage of that, whether it was through me or through somebody else. The Cowboys have never elected to do that, at least with me. You know, maybe they have with others.”
In other words, Miami wants to use him as a resource for information that he has, and they don’t have access to. That’s information, largely, obtained through his role as a broadcaster.
Now, there’s the question as to whether that actually constitutes cheating, and for the time being, it’s hard to say that it does.
The NFL set up rules in place specifically for Brady and specifically because he was a partial owner of a team. It has not otherwise been an issue where broadcasters both work for a major network, be it CBS, Fox, or ESPN, and also have some kind of job where they pass along information to teams.
Traditionally, broadcasters are seen as a third party, but that’s now not the case when Aikman calls Dolphins games. He has a vested interest, the same way Brady does with the Raiders. It’s not proof he’s done anything wrong, but it’s proof he has an incentive to do something wrong.
“But I will say I’m pulling for the Dolphins, because now I have something at stake,” Aikman told Hill. “And I think they hired two really talented, wonderful people, and I think that’s gonna prove itself out. …But, yeah, I’m pulling for them. I want to see them do well because I feel like my fingerprints are on it as well.”
Tom Brady is No Stranger to Controversy
Tom Brady
GettyFormer NFL quarterback Tom Brady
If there is one thing that Tom Brady has plenty of experience with, it’s being involved in controversy. During his time as the quarterback of the New England Patriots, the team ended up wrapped up in multiple scandals related to cheating.
Spygate did not directly involve him, but the team itself. Later, Deflategate would directly involve Brady, as he was accused of having footballs underinflated below what the NFL’s rules allowed. The Wells Report would find it “more probable than not” that the team purposefully underinflated balls and that Brady was “generally aware” of them being deflated. It wasn’t much in terms of evidence, but it was enough to land him a four-game suspension.
In the end, Brady would go on to win three more Super Bowls in his career and solidify his legacy. For most fans, the scandal became a footnote.
As it stands now, there have been no accusations that either Brady or Aikman has cheated in their role as broadcasters. It’s just a matter of how the conflict of interest looks and the opportunity for an unscrupulous broadcaster to cheat at some point in the future.