NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pushed back on concerns that Tom Brady’s dual role as a broadcaster for FOX Sports and a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders presents any conflict of interest. The concerns about a potential conflict of interest between his role as a broadcaster and minority team owner were raised by many last week. As Brady was spotted in the team’s coaching booth Monday night during the first quarter of Las Vegas’ 20-9 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Brady retired after a 23-year career and debuted on FOX last season under a 10-year, $375 million contract originally agreed to in 2022. Limitations were placed on him due to his partial ownership of the Raiders. A deal approved by NFL owners in October of last year. This season, the league has eased some restrictions on his broadcast duties, allowing him to join production meetings remotely. These meetings, where broadcast crews confer with a game’s head coaches and key players, are now open to Brady. Though he is still barred from attending team practices.
The unprecedented arrangement has sparked debate about whether Brady’s access to production meetings and relationships across the league could create complications. Speaking to CNBC’s Alex Sherman, Goodell downplayed those concerns.
“Teams have the right to say whatever they want to. They don’t have to disclose any information if they think it’s a conflict of interest,” Goodell told CNBC. “Teams don’t need to say anything. Sometimes they don’t say anything to somebody who’s not [a minority owner]. We get a lot of former players that are in [broadcast meetings] that are close to their former teams. I think our teams are pretty smart about saying, ‘I’m not sharing something with him.’”
Goodell added that the league has safeguards in place to prevent any inappropriate overlap between Brady’s broadcast work and his ownership role.
“Where’s the conflict?” Goodell continued. “He’s not hanging around in the facilities. We don’t allow that.”
Goodell’s comments follow Brady writing a lengthy response to any notion of a conflict of interest that was published on his website Wednesday morning.
“When you live through uncertain and untrusting times like we are today. It is very easy to watch a person’s passions and profession intersect, and to believe you’re looking at some sort of dilemma. Because when you’re blinded by distrust, it’s hard to see anything other than self-interest,” wrote Brady. “People who are like that, particularly to a chronic, pathological degree, are telling on themselves. They’re showing you their worldview and how they operate. They’re admitting that they can only conceive of interests that are selfish; that they cannot imagine a person doing their job for reasons that are greater than themselves.”
Critics argue that even if no rules are broken, the perception of a conflict could create challenges for FOX or the league if Brady is assigned to a Raiders telecast.
Still, Goodell’s stance suggests the NFL will leave much of that responsibility to the network, the teams, and its talent.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
