Tom Brady’s combination of duties as a FOX NFL color analyst and minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders has sparked considerable attention.
When cameras showed him in the Raiders‘ coaches’ booth wearing a headset during their Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, it confirmed suspicions that Brady is actively involved in the team’s operations.
Brady has become hands-on despite not being a majority owner. The seven-time Super Bowl champion isn’t just making casual visits with Raiders coaches and players during the week — he’s deeply involved, staying in regular contact with general manager John Spytek, according to The Athletic.
On top of that, his longtime trainer and business partner, Alex Guerrero, serves as the team’s wellness coordinator, overseeing the training staff and strength and conditioning. This arrangement gives Brady direct insight into the roster and real-time updates.
Nonetheless, former Raiders CEO Amy Trask called out majority owner Mark Davis, who has all the power to end Brady’s hands-on influence.
“This topic has been kicked around a tremendous amount, and I won’t dive into the substance of should he be doing this? Should he be doing this?” Trask said on the September 20 edition of “CBS Sports HQ.” “I’ll focus instead on the issue you raised, which is how is this going to be handled within the Raider organization?
“And the answer is ultimately that Mark Davis has to make a decision as to whether he wants to continue to support and facilitate Tom in his dual role and thus risk angering and potentially alienating the owners of other teams.”
Are the Other NFL Owners Mad at the Raiders?
One reason Trask stated that Davis needs to make a decision on this dual role that Brady has is that there’s a risk of creating a rift with the other NFL owners. Whether it’s in the meetings or the owners having private conversations, the former Raiders CEO believes that the other NFL owners are indeed talking about the Brady situation.
“I guarantee you that at league owners meetings, this will be mentioned — if not in the meeting itself, then in the hallways, at the lunchroom, and otherwise,” Trask added. “So Mark has to make that decision. But it’s not just Mark. He is, as denominated by the NFL, the controlling owner of the team. Every team is required to have someone defined as a controlling owner. There’s a certain requirement of that which the owner must own.
“Mark is that controlling owner. But while he is the controlling owner, there’s someone behind the scenes who’s extremely, extremely involved in the organization and decisions, and I believe will be involved in this discussion as well, and that is Jim Gray.”
Is Tom Brady Crossing the Line?
Despite the appeal of juggling a hands-on role with the Raiders while calling games for FOX, sports media personality Skip Bayless isn’t impressed. The former FS1 and ESPN commentator is openly criticizing Tom Brady for attempting to handle both responsibilities at once.
“He’s still flaunting and taunting like he’s the GOAT, and he is,” Bayless said on a recent episode of “Skip & The Arena Gridiron.” “You can get away with just about anything if you’re Tom Brady. He’s getting away with a lot right now because what he did Monday night was the biggest FU to the NFL — and especially to Fox — that Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. could spill out there for the world to see. And he knows exactly what he is doing.”
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