Former NFL quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is on the cusp of beginning his time as the lead analyst for the NFL on FOX, slated to make his debut on Sunday, Sept. 8 as the Cleveland Browns face the Dallas Cowboys. Yet Brady will reportedly face restrictions in his new job as he is awaiting approval to become a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, according to sources cited in a new story from The Athletic.
Some of these restrictions are said to begin immediately due to the pending nature of the transaction and throughout the review process that limits his access to other team facilities and practices, along with broadcast production meetings. These conflict-of-interest limitations are specific to Brady and were presented at special league meetings in Eagan, Minn. While at these meetings, league owners approved a measure that permits private equity firms to purchase partial ownership stakes in NFL teams.
At the moment, Brady’s bid for ownership has not yet been approved and is pending before the league’s finance committee, and at least 24 of the 32 team owners must ratify the transaction as well. If Brady is approved as a partial owner of the Raiders, he would also need to adhere to other league restrictions, some of which include being unable to publicly criticize officials or other teams. In the event that he broke these rules, the league could opt to fine or suspend him, according to a report from ESPN. Brady would also need to abide by rules with oversight of gambling and anti-tampering and could only have “strictly social communication” with members of other teams.
Brady is commencing a contract with FOX Sports that is reportedly worth a collective $375 million over a 10-year span. Last March, he purchased a partial ownership stake in the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA, who have won consecutive league championships. From there, he had talks pertaining to an ownership interest in the Las Vegas Raiders. ESPN has reported that these restrictions would be instituted if Brady were to be approved as a partial owner of the team, whereas The Athletic states that certain restrictions are already implemented as the transaction is pending and going through the review process.
FOX Sports revealed its NFL broadcast teams earlier in the month, including the lead broadcast team with Brady as its newcomer. He will join play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt and sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi throughout the season to provide his unique insights, analysis and perspective surrounding the game.
