‘Ridiculous’- Fox boss fires back at Tom Brady conflict of interest backlash over dual roles as $375m analyst and Raiders owner
Tom Brady’s dual roles have been called into question in recent weeks. The seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback is a minority owner in the Las Vegas Raiders having acquired a 10 percent stake in the franchise last year. Brady is a busy man juggling two demanding jobsGetty The New England Patriots legend is also Fox’s No. 1 NFL game analyst, having signed a 10-year deal worth $375 million to be the network’s top color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. Brady will be on the call for the Divisional Round game between the Detroit Lions and the Washington Commanders on Saturday, which some believe raises conflict of interest issues amid Brady’s reported interest in making Lions OC Ben Johnson the next Raiders head coach. The presumption is that Brady’s commentary might be compromised or watered down because he has a vested interest in keeping his potential candidate happy. Many ultimately believe Brady continuing as both a team owner and commentator is ‘unsustainable‘, and that eventually he’ll be forced to give up one of the roles. However, one Fox executive sees things differently, calling it ‘ridiculous’ to question Brady’s integrity. “To me, the questioning of someone’s integrity to say there is a conflict of interest is ridiculous and that’s a shame,” Fox Sports’ president of programming and production Brad Zager told The Athletic. “For somebody to say there’s a conflict of interest in that Tom Brady can’t go in a booth and call a Lions game because the possibility of a Raiders coaching search could include, maybe people from Detroit, maybe from Washington, maybe from any team — since they haven’t hired anyone yet — is questioning his integrity. It’s questioning his professionalism. I just don’t understand it on any level.” The Fox executive also drew comparisons to other broadcasters who have potential conflicts with the teams or schools they often call. “Is there a conflict of interest Monday night when Kirk Herbstreit calls Ohio State in the national championship game?” Zager asked. “Was there a conflict of interest of Joe Davis calling the Dodgers in the World Series?” The Patriots legend is said to be taking an active role in finding the next Raiders head coachGetty Many who know Brady have praised his professionalism and rubbished suggestions of a ‘conflict of interest’AP Many insiders have also pushed back on the conflict of interest narrative surrounding Brady, including ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who highlighted Brady’s ‘professionalism’ on The Pat McAfee Show last week. “I think that Tom Brady is professional enough that he’s not going to look to violate or skirt any rules,” Schefter said. “Tom Brady is broadcasting Ben Johnson’s game and that’s the way it kind of goes right now. And by the way, if the NFL hands out a memo, and maybe it will, saying that Tom Brady and Ben Johnson are not allowed to talk. I can tell you this: I don’t think Tom Brady really cares. He doesn’t need Ben Johnson to speak to him to get ready for this broadcast on Sunday. The idea of that is absurd. “But again, people get very sensitive and touchy, so if there are rules that nobody wants to have violated, fine. I think we’re all adult enough to know that Ben Johnson is a primary head coaching candidate in multiple places, including Las Vegas … call me naive, call me silly, call me ridiculous, I think that everybody involved is professional enough to do this the right way.” Brady’s role as a minority NFL owner in addition to being the lead commentator for FOX each week has already caused several issues this season, with numerous strict rules being enforced on him in order to maintain the integrity of the league. As an owner, Brady is prohibited from accessing another team’s facility, witnessing practice, and attending broadcast production meetings virtually and in person — all routine practices for a run-of-the-mill broadcaster. Despite rumors suggesting otherwise, Brady reportedly intends to see out the remaining 9 years of his Fox contractGetty Brady is also not permitted to criticize game officials and other clubs due to his affiliation with the Raiders. There was heavy speculation that TB12 could walk away from Fox after the Super Bowl to focus on the Raiders. However, that’s been rubbished by Brady’s agent Don Yee, who revealed Brady fully intends to fulfil his 10-year obligation with Fox. “Tom has had a tremendous amount of fun working with Fox this year, and he’s really excited about the future with Fox and his growth on their team,” Yee said to Sports Business Journal. “And this year was the first year of a long relationship.” Brady, it seems, isn’t going anywhere. He’ll be in the Fox booth for the NFC Championship game as well as the Super Bowl, which takes place in February in New Orleans.
Tom Brady’s dual roles have been called into question in recent weeks.
The seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback is a minority owner in the Las Vegas Raiders having acquired a 10 percent stake in the franchise last year.
The New England Patriots legend is also Fox’s No. 1 NFL game analyst, having signed a 10-year deal worth $375 million to be the network’s top color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt.
Brady will be on the call for the Divisional Round game between the Detroit Lions and the Washington Commanders on Saturday, which some believe raises conflict of interest issues amid Brady’s reported interest in making Lions OC Ben Johnson the next Raiders head coach.
The presumption is that Brady’s commentary might be compromised or watered down because he has a vested interest in keeping his potential candidate happy.
Many ultimately believe Brady continuing as both a team owner and commentator is ‘unsustainable‘, and that eventually he’ll be forced to give up one of the roles.
However, one Fox executive sees things differently, calling it ‘ridiculous’ to question Brady’s integrity.
“To me, the questioning of someone’s integrity to say there is a conflict of interest is ridiculous and that’s a shame,” Fox Sports’ president of programming and production Brad Zager told The Athletic.
“For somebody to say there’s a conflict of interest in that Tom Brady can’t go in a booth and call a Lions game because the possibility of a Raiders coaching search could include, maybe people from Detroit, maybe from Washington, maybe from any team — since they haven’t hired anyone yet — is questioning his integrity. It’s questioning his professionalism. I just don’t understand it on any level.”
The Fox executive also drew comparisons to other broadcasters who have potential conflicts with the teams or schools they often call.
“Is there a conflict of interest Monday night when Kirk Herbstreit calls Ohio State in the national championship game?” Zager asked.
“Was there a conflict of interest of Joe Davis calling the Dodgers in the World Series?”
Many insiders have also pushed back on the conflict of interest narrative surrounding Brady, including ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who highlighted Brady’s ‘professionalism’ on The Pat McAfee Show last week.
“I think that Tom Brady is professional enough that he’s not going to look to violate or skirt any rules,” Schefter said.
“Tom Brady is broadcasting Ben Johnson’s game and that’s the way it kind of goes right now. And by the way, if the NFL hands out a memo, and maybe it will, saying that Tom Brady and Ben Johnson are not allowed to talk. I can tell you this: I don’t think Tom Brady really cares. He doesn’t need Ben Johnson to speak to him to get ready for this broadcast on Sunday. The idea of that is absurd.
“But again, people get very sensitive and touchy, so if there are rules that nobody wants to have violated, fine. I think we’re all adult enough to know that Ben Johnson is a primary head coaching candidate in multiple places, including Las Vegas … call me naive, call me silly, call me ridiculous, I think that everybody involved is professional enough to do this the right way.”
Brady’s role as a minority NFL owner in addition to being the lead commentator for FOX each week has already caused several issues this season, with numerous strict rules being enforced on him in order to maintain the integrity of the league.
As an owner, Brady is prohibited from accessing another team’s facility, witnessing practice, and attending broadcast production meetings virtually and in person — all routine practices for a run-of-the-mill broadcaster.
Brady is also not permitted to criticize game officials and other clubs due to his affiliation with the Raiders.
There was heavy speculation that TB12 could walk away from Fox after the Super Bowl to focus on the Raiders.
However, that’s been rubbished by Brady’s agent Don Yee, who revealed Brady fully intends to fulfil his 10-year obligation with Fox.
“Tom has had a tremendous amount of fun working with Fox this year, and he’s really excited about the future with Fox and his growth on their team,” Yee said to Sports Business Journal.
“And this year was the first year of a long relationship.”
Brady, it seems, isn’t going anywhere.
He’ll be in the Fox booth for the NFC Championship game as well as the Super Bowl, which takes place in February in New Orleans.
