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Seth Wickersham, ESPN Senior WriterAug 28, 2024, 06:33 PM ET
- Senior Writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine
- Joined ESPN The Magazine after graduating from the University of Missouri.
- Although he primarily covers the NFL, his assignments also have taken him to the Athens Olympics, the World Series, the NCAA tournament and the NHL and NBA playoffs.
If Tom Brady is approved as a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, he will be forced to abide by unique and severe restrictions in his dual role as a Fox broadcaster, according to a presentation given to owners at Tuesday’s NFL meetings in Minneapolis.
The league confirmed to ESPN that among the restrictions, 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. The lack of access to coaches and players before games could be the most severe restriction; those meetings, at which a broadcast crew meets with the matchup’s head coaches and key players, are often a lifeblood of insight for the telecast.
These rules, which the league presented to owners Tuesday on a slide titled “Brady — Broadcast Restrictions,” potentially would affect only the seven-time Super Bowl champion and would not apply to other members of Fox crews. A league source told ESPN that owners had raised several questions about conflicts of interest in Brady’s potential role.
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Aside from the access restrictions, Brady — if he were to become a limited partner with the Raiders — would be subject to other applicable league policies common to other owners.
• He would be prohibited from publicly criticizing game officials and other clubs. While Brady could, in theory, state that he disagrees with a call on air, he would be subject to fines or even a suspension if he went too far.
• He would be subject to the league’s gambling policy.
• He would be subject to the league’s anti-tampering policies. He would be permitted only “strictly social communication with members of other clubs,” according to the slide that the league presented.
There is a precedent for these rules, league spokesman Brian McCarthy told ESPN. In 2017, Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen called some games for Fox, including one against the Minnesota Vikings. Because the Vikings were an upcoming opponent of the Panthers, Olsen wasn’t given usual broadcast crew access. Olsen has worked on Fox’s top broadcast team since retirement. Brady is due to replace him on that crew this year.
Representatives for Fox and the Raiders didn’t respond to ESPN’s requests for comments.
These rules might further complicate Brady’s bid to become a limited partner of the Raiders. The deal still has not been finalized, more than a year after ESPN first reported that he was in advanced discussions to be a partial owner and, shortly after, that he had agreed to buy a stake in the team.
Owners and league executives have had questions about the selling price of his proposed 10% stake — the Washington Post reported in March that the discounted rate that Brady was due to receive concerned owners — and about the conflicts of interest as a color analyst on a broadcast partner’s top television team.
His bid has been stuck in the league’s finance committee. If it clears the committee, Brady’s ownership stake must be approved by at least 24 of 32 owners.
Before what turned out to be Brady’s final NFL season in 2022, the all-time great agreed to a 10-year, $375 million contract to join Fox as an analyst once his playing career was over. He retired in 2023 and agreed to begin at Fox for the 2024 season.
