Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
There has been plenty of pearl-clutching over Tom Brady serving as a broadcaster for Fox while also owning a minority stake in the Raiders. The alleged conflict of interest has received plenty of attention, but a new survey suggests most players aren’t particularly concerned with the QB juggling those two jobs.
Tom Brady had a very cushy job as an analyst waiting for him at Fox when he brought his legendary NFL career to an end after 23 seasons. He made his grand debut at the start of the 2024 campaign, and less than two months later, he officially purchased a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders to finalize an agreement that was struck in 2023.
The NFL found itself grappling with an unprecedented situation, as Brady’s new gig meant he had access to inside information he could theoretically harness to benefit the team he partly owns. The league subsequently rolled out the so-called “Brady Rules,” which restricted his access to practices and production meetings and, most notably, barred him from criticizing the officiating during games.
The fact that he’s been allowed to wear both of those hats in the first place has been a sore point for many media members who have rallied against what they position as an unacceptable conflict of interest, but the numbers suggest most of the people it would impact more than any others don’t really seem to care.
Less than 10% of NFL players object to Tom Brady being able to serve as a broadcaster while also being an owner
This season, the NFL rescinded the rule that had previously barred Brady from meeting with coaches and players ahead of the games he was covering, one that was particularly absurd because the people who were present were allowed to pass along the information that was shared in those sessions to the retired QB before the ban was lifted.
While I can understand the basis for the argument that Brady has a conflict of interest, I’ve found it hard to buy into the outrage concerning his dual roles.
Every NFL team has a system in place to ensure the horde of reporters that cover them don’t gain access to proprietary information before games, and even if Brady was trying to use his job at Fox to serve as a mole, every person he speaks with is aware of his role with the Raiders and can adjust accordingly if they so desire (and it’s not like those pregame meetings typically produce any groundbreaking revelations in the first place).
If anything, Fox is the biggest victim (or fool) here for hiring a guy who isn’t allowed to criticize the refs on the air and has to abide by rules that hamstring his ability to perform the job he gets paid over $37 million a year to do.
You could make a stronger argument for keeping Brady out of the booth if the players on the teams that would be impacted by his supposed sleuthing thought they’d be put at a disadvantage as a result. However, according to a survey that was conducted by The Athletic, 84.2% of them do not have an issue with it, and just 9.2% say they do (another 6.6% have no opinion).
Some unnamed players who shrugged it off offer some insight into their rationale, with one saying “I feel like he’s earned the right to do that,” another noting “Teams just have to be mindful of what you tell him, just like with any broadcaster or reporter,” and one bluntly stating “If he’s getting information and sharing it with the Raiders, so what? They sucked anyway.”
It is worth noting that survery had a relatively small sample size of just 76 players, but it’s still a pretty overwhelming result.