An anonymous NFL owner has bemoaned the ‘unfair advantage’ Tom Brady is handing the Las Vegas Raiders in his role as a commentator for Fox Sports.
Brady reignited the controversy surrounding his co-ownership of the Raiders and $375million contract with Fox earlier this week after he was spotted watching Las Vegas’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers in the coaching booth.
When he acquired a minority stake last year, NFL chiefs imposed strict rules on the legendary quarterback’s broadcasting career, including barring him from attending production meetings or visiting other teams’ facilities.
While he is now allowed to attend production meetings, his appearance in the Raiders’ coaching booth sparked outrage on Monday night, with fans adamant that it is proof of a conflict of interest in his roles with the franchise and Fox.
And according to The Athletic, one unnamed team owner has expressed his frustration with the advantage Las Vegas gets from Brady’s Fox role.
‘They are getting an unfair advantage whether they capitalize on it or not. You don’t think he’s getting info from the crew that is allowed at practice? Of course he is.’
An NFL owner has bemoaned the ‘unfair advantage’ Tom Brady is giving the Las Vegas Raiders
Brady was spotted watching the Raiders’ game against the Chargers in the coaching booth
A general manager for a different team was also quoted as saying: ‘It’s Tom Brady. He’s one of the most shrewd quarterbacks to ever play football. Of course he’s going to soak up everything he can to give the Raiders an edge.’
While one anonymous head coach reportedly gave a different view by saying: ‘Good! He’s busy doing lots of jobs. Less time to improve the Raiders.
Former Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce recently explained how Brady would leak information to the team amid his broadcasting duties.
Pierce, who served as head coach in Vegas from 2023 until earlier this year, told Adam Schein on his Mad Dog Sports Radio show on SiriusXM: ‘Tom Brady is the elite of the elite, one of the greatest quarterbacks, one of the greatest players in the game, played against him obviously, student of the game.
‘It’s not hard for him to watch a few things on a Friday practice or hear things in a production meeting and be like, “Hmm,” and have tidbits. And you’d be foolish enough to think that he’s not gonna share that with the Raiders because we had those conversations about certain things.
‘He was very informative about things that he knew or he felt and that’s why you bring a guy like Tom Brady into your organization to be a minority owner.’
Pierce also admitted he wouldn’t feel comfortable to be on the other side of the dilemma.
Former Las Vegas head coach Antonio Pierce admitted the NFL icon would leak information to the team amid his broadcasting duties last season
‘I would be nervous,’ he told Schein. ‘I think I would be tight lipped, which I think most head coaches are when they go into production meetings. They watch it. I think on Fridays, if he happens to be there on a Friday practice, you might want to limit some things. I just think that’s a fact.
‘I think everybody is gonna give you the political answer and say, ‘Oh, it’s no big deal.’ I’m calling BS on that because if me and you was to call the game, they’ll be secretive with us. Now you got a guy who’s a minority owner, a great player, you know he understands the game, you know he sees the game.
‘He has obviously an interest in the Raiders. So, I just think it’s unprecedented. We haven’t seen it.
‘Again, I don’t want to talk above my means. I don’t know what the NFL has set for Tom Brady and his rules, but I know he was a great asset for us with the Raiders when I was there. And I think he’ll still be a great asset as he’s going forward and I think this does help him out, and the Raiders.’
