Tom Brady Restricted in First Broadcast As Raiders Minority Owner

The first broadcast of Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady was hindered by the rules imposed upon him as an owner. Can it continue?

Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Retired quarterback Tom Brady speaks with San Francisco 49ers chief executive officer Jed York before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The first broadcast for NFL legend Tom Brady since becoming minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders was a tight-rope walk, according to the New York Times' Andrew Marchand.

Brady was officially made a minority owner last week and there were big questions as to how it would affect his broadcasting ability when it was made known he would face heavy restrictions for his broadcasting gig with Fox.

"During Fox’s NFL pregame show, a Tom Brady hologram was superimposed in the studio, so Brady appeared as if he were talking directly to Michael Strahan, Terry Bradshaw and the rest of the gang," Marchand wrote. "If only there could actually be two Bradys, the $375 million No. 1 NFL game analyst’s broadcasting life would be much less complicated. This past week, the rookie TV analyst officially became a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. This has put the Brady Rules into further focus. The Brady Rules, imposed by the NFL, make it so Brady must avoid criticizing league officials or other teams and can’t visit teams’ facilities or attend broadcast meetings. The rules apply to other owners, of course, but none of them is also paid to analyze opponents on TV.

" ... The Brady Rules seem a little fungible. The team hotel is OK, but the team facility wouldn’t have been? Would Brady have quarterback-sneaked all the Chiefs’ blueprints if he were at their headquarters? Would he have filmed practice? Deflated balls? Who knows?"

Brady's performance has been improving as a broadcaster, Marchand noted, but the "ownership aspect" makes it more difficult when criticizing or showing a subjective viewpoint.

"Sunday, in the first quarter of 49ers-Chiefs, there were two questionable flags," Marchand continued. "Early on, Brady quickly agreed with a hold call on the 49ers. At the end of the period, a late interference flag on the Chiefs’Justin Reid inspired Brady to say he could see how Reid could be a little frustrated with the call before deferring to Fox’s official in the booth, Mike Pereira. In the middle of the second quarter, Brady started going into another holding call before bailing by saying, “Mike?” Pereira made his ruling."

Things will likely get easier for Brady moving forward, especially when it comes to his overall improvement to the job of commentary.

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