raiders owner
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Tom Brady.
When Fox hired Tom Brady to a massive contract to be a color commentator for games, they didn’t realize that there would be so many complications. He got approved as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders last year, and considering he gets a lot of access to teams ahead of the games that he covers, many believed it would create a conflict of interest.
This led to the NFL restricting access to taking part in production meetings with coaches and teams. However, that’s going away. The Athletic recently reported that Brady will now be allowed to be part of those meetings. He still can’t go to practices, but he can at least meet with coaches and teams.
While this is good news for Fox and Brady, some people aren’t very happy about it. Radio legend Dan Patrick thinks that it’s a serious problem that Brady is still able to get this kind of access while owning another team.
“He shouldn’t be in these production meetings,” Patrick said on the “Dan Patrick Show.” “You’re a minority owner of the Raiders. Now, he was still involved with a team that was involved in the two biggest cheating scandals of all time. He was involved in … well, his team was involved in Spygate. There was Deflategate. He shouldn’t be in these meetings. It’s just—pick one or the other.
“The NFL wants Tom to be there during the games. I get that. But now you’re changing the rules just so Tom can go into these meetings. And he does need to be in these meetings. If you want to be a broadcaster, be a broadcaster. Go into those meetings.”
Brady Could Put Coaches in Awkward Situation
Luckily, Fox covers the NFC, so Brady won’t be covering as many teams that play the Raiders, and Fox obviously won’t have him cover any games that the Raiders play on the network. The main problem is that he could have access to secrets that coaches don’t want him to know.
“If I’m a coach and I play the Raiders at some point this season, and I don’t know how many times this would happen, how forthcoming do you want to be here?” Patrick said. “Tom can ask you anything you want. Now, you don’t have to answer that. But I don’t know …
“I just think you gotta be fair to being either a minority owner who is very active, from what I’m told, or are you going to be a broadcaster? Keep this in mind how competitive Tom is. I don’t think this is like a summer vacation for Tom, where I’m going to be a broadcaster for a little while. He’s going to want to be great, and you’re going to want to get information.”
How Long Can This Last?
Brady has a $375 million contract with Fox, so he’s not going to walk away from that easily. However, his working for Fox is bound to create difficult situations in the future, especially if the Raiders get good again.
It’s hard to imagine Brady sees Fox as a long-term home. NFL ownership is a much more exclusive club to be in. It’ll be interesting to see if Fox tries to push him out after this season.