Rarely able to watch the Raiders play in-person due to a high-profile second job, Tom Brady did survey the team he partially owns Monday night in Las Vegas. ESPN cameras spotting the QB legend-turned-owner/broadcaster in the coaches’ booth has drawn expected scrutiny.
Brady watching the Raiders-Chargers matchup from the coaches’ booth would certainly not be cause for concern if he only served as a Raiders minority owner; being in Year 2 as FOX’s top color analyst has triggered pushback — to the point another NFL statement on the matter surfaced.
“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game,” an NFL spokesman said in a statement (via CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones). “Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner.
“… Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings. He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple times, including for the Super Bowl. Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions.”
While the NFL’s Brady policy of sorts prohibits him from attending production meetings with coaches and players onsite, the league made a notable change this offseason by allowing him to attend them virtually. Last year, Brady could serve as FOX’s lead analyst but could not attend production meetings. The image of Brady in the coaches’ booth Monday reignited the uproar about this conflict of interest.
The league’s ownership contingent had continued to delay Brady’s Raiders stake from being approved. While Mark Davis‘ stake price was part of a stalling effort that lasted over a year, the eventual approval last fall came with stipulations regarding the 23-year QB veteran’s FOX gig.
Brady has not entered another team’s facility due to that part of his rule set remaining in place, but he has been given access to remote production meetings. Concerns about this part of the popular announcer/owner’s deal are still generating issues from other teams, according to the Washington Post’s Mark Maske, Tashan Reed and Ben Strauss. Though, a high-ranking team official told the Post the NFL has dismissed other clubs’ concerns about this “unfair” Brady arrangement.
Several owners were hesitant to approve Brady’s dual role, per the Post. That was effectively understood due to the length of time between Brady’s stake agreement (May 2023) and its unanimous approval (October 2024). Since, Brady has taken on a lead role in Raiders personnel.
Although Brady’s day-to-day Raiders role remains murky, Mark Davis had said he wanted him front and center for the team’s QB and HC searches. Brady input led to the Raiders firing GM Tom Telesco after one season (the one-and-done Vegas GM is now working at Sirius XM Radio), and the Spytek hire came after he and Brady both overlapped with the Buccaneers and as Michigan teammates decades ago. Brady also led the Raiders’ recruitment of Matthew Stafford during trade negotiations, and the former AFC East mainstay’s hesitation on Sam Darnold led Las Vegas to go another way at QB.
With Brady heavily involved in Raiders matters, his broadcast team will naturally be unlikely to receive many useful nuggets during pregame production meetings. Brady called the Commanders-Giants’ Week 1 matchup; the Raiders face Washington in Week 3. In Week 4, Brady will call the Cowboys-Bears game before seeing the Raiders face the Bears in Week 5.
While Ben Johnson — whom Brady used his FOX job to scout as a hopeful Raiders HC option last year — downplayed this conflict of interest, ESPN’s Peter Schrager said OC Chip Kelly told him he discusses film and the gameplan with Brady two or three times per week. Pete Carroll then denied Brady’s Kelly meetings occur that frequently, per Maske, Reed and Strauss. The NFL, per Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr, also deleted a tweet about the Brady-Kelly conversations.
“We have conversations. I talk to Tom, and Chip talks to Tom regularly,” Carroll said. “We have a tremendous asset, and we all get along well and respect each other. And so, we just talk about life and football and whatever comes. He has great insight, so we’re lucky to have him as an owner.”
Teams are also leery with regards to future Raiders free agency pursuits, according to Jones, as pregame meetings could help the minority owner — though, perhaps not substantially — file information away for his team down the line. Information regarding teams’ values of certain players would stand to be another potential issue here. But this matter continues to be one the NFL is willing to live with in exchange for having Brady continue to play prominent roles.
