Tom Brady’s foray into broadcasting is about to become even more complex.
After conducting an interview with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes last month that aired on Fox’s NFL coverage, there is a possibility that the NFL chooses to further restrict what the former superstar quarterback and Las Vegas Raiders part-owner can do.
“The interview was personal in nature–it did not cover competitive or strategic information–but some insiders believe it created a situation where Brady could have received sensitive information about the Chiefs, a Raiders division rival,” according to a report from the Sports Business Journal.
The NFL finance committee, the entity that will be responsible for the decision, will discuss what regulations they should enforce on Brady for future interviews. Topics of discussion will likely include, but are not limited to, Brady’s interviews being fully live or recorded to prevent the possibility of sensitive information being passed along off the record. Additionally, Brady may also have to conduct his interviews away from team facilities and hotels, as well as being monitored by the league to ensure such conversations are within the proper guidelines.
These restrictions would be added on to the ones already placed on Brady. After his part-ownership of the Raiders became official, the NFL regulated Brady’s media privileges in order to prevent him from using his position in the media to give his new team a competitive edge. The regulations included Brady being unable to enter another team’s facilities, attend team practices, or attend broadcast production meetings. Brady is also prohibited from criticizing officials and other teams on air, and is also subject to the NFL’s gambling and anti-tampering policies.
Brady is in his first season of a ten-year, $375 million deal he signed with Fox Sports weeks prior to the approval of his ownership bid of the Raiders. He is serving as the color commentator for Fox’s top NFL broadcast team alongside play-by-play commentator Kevin Burkhardt and sideline reporter Erin Andrews. It is unclear how these new restrictions will affect Brady’s preparation for games, assuming that the league approves them.
Brady has already had to conduct himself in an unprecedented manner as a broadcaster, and it is possible his role is about to become even more complicated.
