Tom Brady might be having buyer’s remorse about agreeing to purchase a piece of the Raiders. If not, Fox might be having buyer’s remorse about agreeing to pay Brady $37.5 million per year to call games.
According to Seth Wickersham of ESPN.com, if/when Brady’s purchase of a portion of the Raiders is approved, severe restrictions on his access to all NFL teams will be activated. Per Wickersham, “Brady would not be permitted to be in another team’s facility, would not be permitted to witness practice and would not be permitted to attend broadcast production meetings, either in-person or virtually.”
Those things are the lifeblood of broadcast crews. It gives them inside information regarding the game that will unfold, making it easier to tell fans what happened. Brady would be prohibited from ever doing that, except on the rare occasions that he works a Raiders game.
Brady also would be “prohibited from publicly criticizing game officials and other clubs,” which could open the door to a fine if he goes to far in calling a bad call a bad call.
The restrictions were presented to owners during Tuesday’s meeting in Minnesota. It’s unclear whether the restrictions have changed since May, when the Commissioner suggested that the situation has been addressed — but the league declined to say what the restrictions were.
As PFT reported in July, Brady and former Patriots teammate Richard Seymour have joined forces in an effort to buy 10.4 percent of the team. It’s unclear if/when the transaction will be approved by owners.
At this point, Brady and Fox should want it to be delayed until after the 2024 season. Why have Brady’s first year complicated by a potential approval of the transaction in October, or December?
More broadly, Brady should pick a lane here. Be an owner or be a broadcaster. Don’t be both. Because you can’t be an owner and do the job properly as a broadcaster.
To try to both, frankly, is more than a little selfish.
And, even more frankly, these restrictions might be the NFL’s way to send that much-needed message to Brady.