Tom Brady is defending himself amid concerns about a conflict of interest between his roles as Fox’s lead analyst and a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Discourse surrounding the potential for Brady to give the Raiders a competitive advantage gained steam after cameras showed him in the coaching booth at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas during the Chargers’ Week 2 win over the Raiders. It put his involvement with the Raiders in the spotlight and sparked questions because Brady’s role as a broadcaster gives him access to information about teams through production meetings that other owners don’t have.
Brady responded to the noise in his weekly newsletter on Wednesday in a post titled “Do Your Job.”
“I love football. At its core it is a game of principles. And with all the success it has given me, I feel I have a moral and ethical duty to the sport; which is why the point where my roles in it intersect is not actually a point of conflict, despite what the paranoid and distrustful might believe,” Brady wrote. “Rather, it’s the place from which my ethical duty emerges: to grow, evolve, and improve the game that has given me everything.”
Brady said that since retiring from his 23-year playing career, he has been brought closer to football through his broadcasting and ownership endeavors. The seven-time Super Bowl champion continuously pointed to “paranoia and distrust” as the crutch of criticism against him.
“When you live through uncertain and untrusting times like we are today, it is very easy to watch a person’s passions and profession intersect, and to believe you’re looking at some sort of dilemma,” Brady wrote. “Because when you’re blinded by distrust, it’s hard to see anything other than self-interest.”
While some coaches have said Brady’s dual role is not a big deal, others have voiced concern about an unfair advantage.
Brady is in the second year of a 10-year broadcasting deal with Fox. His ownership stake in the Raiders was approved by league owners last October. Last season, the NFL banned Brady from information-gathering sessions between teams and broadcasters, but eased that restriction this year.
In response to concerns after Week 2, the NFL said Brady didn’t break any rules “sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner,” and added that he continues to be banned from attending practices. Brady is allowed to attend production meetings, only remotely, and “as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions,” the league said.
Brady called the Commanders-Giants game in Week 1, two weeks before the Raiders paid a visit to Washington. Last week, Brady called the Bears-Cowboys game, seven days before the Raiders play Chicago in Week 4.
(Photo: Brace Hemmelgarn / Getty Images)