Ever since Tom Brady became a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, there have been quiet rumblings within the NFL community and fans that it is a conflict of interest with his job as a NFL analyst on television.
The issue became a bigger deal on Monday when Brady was in the Raiders coaching booth one day after broadcasting the Kansas City Chiefs at Philadelphia Eagles game. It should be noted that the Raiders will play the Kansas City Chiefs and Eagles each later this season.
Is this how the NFL wants to uphold the competitive integrity of its games?
It is not a secret that TV crews get a great deal of access to the NFL teams and players prior to the telecast. How much of that information gets used in the actual broadcast and how much gets funneled to the Raiders.
It was reported early this week that a team executive does not like the idea of Brady spending time in our building talking to everyone when his team is in game plan mode. The exec spoke of not knowing what information ends up with the Raiders when they play later in the season.
In the end, the NFL is trusting him to have a high degree of integrity and discretion when it comes to preparing to call our game versus what those conversations with Raiders coaches later in the season.
Placing restrictions on Brady could risk the league’s relationship with one of its best ambassadors.
For now, it will be up to teams, particularly those playing the Raiders, to determine what they’re comfortable sharing with Brady, knowing full well he could repeat the information to the Raiders coaching staff without breaking any imposed rules.
