NFL
Can Tom Brady still broadcast Raiders games as partial owner?
Tom Brady is now a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders football team, but will that make him partial as a broadcaster? Here’s where the NFL stands.
The NFL has approved a five percent purchase of the Las Vegas Raiders by future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. This means that Brady is just a partial owner of the team. He does not own a majority stake and won’t have the power to make any big decisions about how the franchise is run.
How Brady’s Raiders ownership limits access to NFL teams
Brady’s partial ownership of the Raiders franchise was approved through several league owner meetings and with some stipulations put in place regarding his new career as a broadcaster for FOX Sports. He’s recently signed a lucrative, 10-year deal as a color commentator alongside play-by-play caller Kevin Burkhardt and this season is his first in the broadcast booth.
As partial owner of the Raiders franchise, Brady is still permitted to broadcast Raiders games, but he must follow the league’s rules, which ban criticism of other teams or officials. Whether or not he will remain impartial will be determined later. However, there are some strict rules in place about his access to other NFL teams which could make his weekly broadcasts a tad more difficult.
Typically, NFL broadcasters have access to teams during the week in order to help them prepare for their gameday broadcasts. During the games, they often reference this, talking about how they spoke to players leading up to the game. Brady won’t be able to do that. He cannot attend broadcast meetings and is not permitted access to players, coaches, or team facilities. He can, however, have the same information transmitted to him another way - he just can’t actually physically attend the meetings.
During a game, Brady is permitted to say whether or not he agrees with an official’s call, but he cannot openly criticize them. Other analysts can.
Here are the rules in place for Brady as a partial owner of the Raiders:
- He cannot go into in another team’s facility
- He cannot witness practices
- He cannot attend broadcast production meetings either in person or virtually
- He cannot publicly criticize game officials and other teams
- He is subject to the NFL’s gambling policy
- He is subject to the league’s anti-tampering policy
One thing Brady definitely cannot do as an NFL team owner is actually play in the league. So it seems Brady may finally be retired for good. Then again, there’s always the possibility he sells his share of the Raiders and becomes the first 50-year-old quarterback in the NFL at some point. With Brady, you just never know.