Tom Brady has been taking the step from retired player to the broadcast booth during the 2024 NFL season. A stake in an NFL team is likely to be next.
Brady has expressed an interest in purchasing a stake in an NFL team. His quest to do so has hit some roadblocks in the league's ever-thorough process, but the former Patriots and Buccaneers quarterback is reportedly expected to be approved to join the Raiders' ownership group soon.
Mark Davis isn't selling the Raiders in full, but Brady would be the leader of a group seeking to purchase about 10 percent of the team.
That said, if Brady gets his wish as expected, it could impact how he's able to perform in his new job. Here's what to know about his quest to become an NFL minority owner and the restrictions he would face as a broadcaster if he officially bought a stake in a team.
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Does Tom Brady own the Raiders?
Tom Brady doesn't own the Raiders, but he is expected to purchase a stake in the team soon. The former Buccaneers and Patriots quarterback is part of a group that is hoping to purchase a 10-percent share of the Raiders.
Per ESPN, Brady is expected to be approved as a minority owner of the Raiders at the NFL fall owners' meeting Tuesday in Atlanta.
Brady would own about seven percent of the Raiders as part of his purchase, per Sportico.
The deal struck between Brady's group and Raiders owner Mark Davis has simply been awaiting NFL approval to come through. Many believed that might happen at the owners' meetings in March 2024, but the league has had yet to approve the sale.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in March that Brady's bid for the 10-percent stake was "making progress."
"I wouldn't say it's a delay," Goodell said. "We go through a very thorough process on all initial transfers, so we're just going through that process. We've been in touch with their side and the Raiders. I think it's making progress."
If all goes well as recent reports suggest, it shouldn't be long before Brady goes from a decades-long starting quarterback to an NFL minority owner.
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How Raiders ownership could impact Tom Brady's broadcasting career
Brady will face significant restrictions impacting his broadcasting routine if he's approved to become a part owner of the Raiders, per ESPN's Seth Wickersham.
The rules impacting Brady would be as follows:
- Brady would not be permitted to be in another team's facility;
- He would not be permitted to witness practice;
- He would not be permitted to attend broadcast production meetings, either in person or virtually.
These restrictions would prevent Brady from meeting with players and coaches ahead of games, which would make it more difficult for him to provide color commentary. Game analysts often recount their conversations with players and coaches or details they saw at practice during game action.
It's also worth noting that the restrictions in question were created specifically for Brady, as some owners were concerned about "conflicts of interest in Brady's potential role," per ESPN.
But Brady would be subject to wider-ranging policies and rules that apply to NFL owners and employees. That would include:
- Being prohibited from publicly criticizing game officials and other clubs;
- Being subject to the NFL's gambling policy;
- Being subject to the league's anti-tampering policy.
The first and last bullet points are the ones that would most directly impact Brady's ability to effectively broadcast a game. He could still state that he disagrees with an official's call, but he would have to avoid going over the top in his criticism.
Regarding the anti-tampering policy, he would be permitted only "strictly social communication with members of other clubs." That would make it difficult for him to gain much insight from any team before broadcasting games.
The good news for Fox is that these rules would apply only to Brady, not to the network's other broadcast crew members. As such, they could still manage by feeding him information to use on-air.
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And as ESPN's Adam Schefter detailed in an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Brady's love of the game could do enough to carry him on the broadcast anyway.
"Tom Brady probably would think that he doesn’t need to go to practice to understand how a player is playing," Schefter said. "And he doesn’t need to sit through meetings to understand how a player is playing, that he can do this on his own without that. If there are some owners that want to impose rules like that that prevent him from going to a practice, then he probably won’t go to practice."
"Tom Brady is gonna go out and try to do the best job he can and I’m fired up to watch him on Sunday, in Cleveland against the Cowboys," Schefter continued. "He’s gonna do a great job because he loves the game, he cares about it, he knows exactly what drives these guys and he’s gonna bring a unique perspective. There aren’t many people who have operated at his level of success who have gone on to have successful broadcast careers. And in my mind, that’s probably just another obstacle, another mountain that he’s looking to challenge and I think he’s going to do a great job."
Keeping Brady off the field pregame could also be a positive for his broadcast team, as his play-by-play partner Kevin Burkhardt told Awful Announcing.
"Going to the field is going to require like an extra three hours. It is like a circus just going down," Burkhardt said of doing pregame field work with Brady. "We were in LA doing a practice game, and it took us 40 minutes just to get down to the elevator just to the corner of the end zone. I had to take a [picture] of he and Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs on the middle of the field. It’s wild."
So, advantages exist in keeping Brady in the booth for most of his access.
Even so, Brady's restrictions would still represent a hurdle for Fox to overcome. Given that the network is paying Brady $350 million to be its No. 1 color commentator, Fox may not be willing to sacrifice any tool that could help the 47-year-old seamlessly replace popular color man Greg Olsen.
