When the NFL finalized its ownership agreement to give Tom Brady a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, it put the league in an unusual spot.
Brady — despite having a financial incentive in the Raiders’ success — is Fox’s lead NFL analyst where he’s expected to act as an impartial expert. In an effort to keep Brady from showing conflicts of interest, the league office placed several restrictions on what Brady can do and say with Fox.
And while the rules effectively made it impossible for Brady to be a successful analyst, the most glaring rule of them all prevented him from criticizing NFL officials.
He may have broken that rule on Sunday.
— The Comeback NFL (@TheComebackNFL) November 3, 2024
During the Week 9 matchup between the Lions and Packers, Lions defensive back Brian Branch was ejected for a dangerous hit to the helmet. The call for an ejection evidently came from the league’s officiating office. And though the hit clearly warranted a 15-yard penalty, it was definitely questionable as an ejectable offense.
Brady tried to express that and said, “I don’t love that call at all.”
Now, Brady may have found a loophole there by making the criticism about his feelings rather than saying an official missed the call. But we’ll have to see if the league actually cared for Brady’s valid critique there.
After all, if he can’t speak freely, what’s the point of even having him in the booth?
