During ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast, Peter Schrager reported that Tom Brady speaks with Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly two or three times a week about the gameplan. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but in addition to Brady’s role as minority owner in the Raiders, he’s also a color commentator for Fox.
This has raised many questions around the league about whether or not it’s a conflict of interest for Brady to own a team and cover NFL games for a media outlet. However, Schrager may have been overblown, according to the Raiders.
Kelly responded to the report and claimed that it wasn’t true.
“I don’t know what was said on the broadcast because we don’t watch the games. But Tom’s involvement with me is — I spend a lot of time just talking football with him,” Kelly told reporters on Thursday. “But it’s not on a — we don’t talk about game plans.”
While Kelly doesn’t go over gameplan stuff with Brady, he has gone over some things with the legendary quarterback.
“I just used him as a resource of, hey, when you faced a Mike Zimmer-type defense, what did you like protection-wise and play-wise?” Kelly said. “But on a weekly basis, he’s not game-planning with us or talking to us. … But he doesn’t talk to the coaches when he’s up there. I think he’s just watching football.”
Kelly Says Brady Doesn’t Have Time to Be Too Involved
From the Raiders‘ perspective, why wouldn’t they consult with Brady on football matters? He’s a minority owner in the franchise and has a wealth of football knowledge.
The onus is on him to keep everything above board. According to Kelly, Brady is simply too busy to be overly involved in the team’s weekly gameplanning.
“In terms of weekly game plans, that’s not a collaboration that we do,” Kelly said. “He’s also a busy guy, so I haven’t even thought of using him to do that, and I don’t think you can. So, our staff does all that.
“But he’s been a guy that I can talk football with, just shooting it about, hey, have you ever faced a two-trap defense or the inverted Tampa two that everybody’s running now. If you’ve ever [seen it], what are your thoughts about that? Things like that. But we don’t talk game plan at all or any of that stuff, in terms of on a weekly basis.”
Is This Issue Going to Go Away for Raiders?
This topic has been a talking point ever since it was revealed that Brady was buying into the franchise. Unfortunately for the team, it’s not likely to go away anytime soon.
The NFL doesn’t seem keen on stepping in, but the noise could get louder if the Raiders manage to beat the Washington Commanders and Chicago Bears in the coming weeks, two teams that Brady has covered or will cover for Fox ahead of the games. Eventually, Brady may need to make the decision to step away from Fox, but it’s hard to imagine anything will happen this year.
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