By Dianna Russini, Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed
Tom Brady is not allowed key access typical for NFL broadcasters in his role as a Fox analyst as he awaits approval to become a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, a league source said Wednesday. The restrictions begin immediately as the transaction is pending and going through the review process, the source said.
Brady is restricted from accessing other team facilities and practices, as well as broadcast production meetings, which usually include meetings with coaches and players ahead of games, ESPN first reported Wednesday.
The league presented the rules, which would potentially be specific to Brady, to owners Tuesday at the NFL meetings in Minneapolis, according to ESPN.
If Brady were to become a Raiders owner, he would also have to abide by other NFL policies in place for owners in addition to the aforementioned restrictions, per ESPN’s report. Namely, he could not publicly criticize officials and other teams (he could be fined or suspended if the league deems he breaks that policy), the report said. He would also have to abide by the league’s gambling and anti-tampering policies, and he would be limited to “strictly social communication” with members of other teams, per the report.
A network source said Fox Sports had no concerns about the limitations. Fox Sports declined to comment.
It’s unclear what the access restrictions mean for Brady’s minority ownership bid with the Raiders. Team owner Mark Davis told ESPN in May 2023 that he and Brady had “come to an agreement” for the former quarterback to join the team’s ownership group, pending NFL approval. But there have been many rumors surrounding the move and potential hangups since the two started discussing the deal over a year ago. The Washington Post reported in October 2023 that there was concern by the other NFL owners about Davis offering Brady a reduced price for a 10 percent stake.
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The seven-time Super Bowl champion is set to make his NFL broadcasting debut as Fox’s lead analyst this season, beginning with the Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 8, after he agreed to a reported 10-year, $375 million contract with the network.
A restructured Raiders ownership bid has to be signed off on by the league’s finance committee and then approved by at least 24 of the league’s 32 owners — perhaps at October’s league meetings. Davis had no comment when asked about the process two weeks ago, and didn’t respond to texts Wednesday.
Brady has not been seen at the Raiders facility much since his former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was fired as head coach last October. But he has been courtside at a few Las Vegas Aces games, and was part of the ceremony when Davis presented the Aces players with their championship rings on May 14. Brady became a minority owner in Davis’ Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA last October.
The origin of Davis and Brady’s business relationship began in May 2022 when Brady attended an Aces game. The two caught up at the contest in a conversation that would eventually lead to Brady purchasing a partial ownership stake in the Aces in March 2023.
“I think he was just really impressed with how far women’s basketball has come,” Davis told The Athletic in March 2023. “And he was also impressed by the excitement and the enthusiasm of the crowd in Las Vegas. He knew that I was in it, and I think he just felt he wanted to be a part of it. And so, his people contacted me, and we talked about it, and he became a partner in the world champion Las Vegas Aces.”
That ultimately evolved into Brady also pursuing a minority ownership stake in the Raiders. Davis was open to considering the idea of selling a piece of the franchise when former Los Angeles Lakers guard Magic Johnson expressed interest in ownership in October 2022, but the deal didn’t come together and the NBA Hall of Fame point guard ended up buying a stake in the Washington Commanders instead in April 2023. Rather than punt on the idea altogether, he agreed to have talks with Brady, with whom he’d formed a stronger relationship.
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand and Richard Deitsch contributed to this report.
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(Photo of Mark Davis, Tom Brady and Alex Guerrero at an Aces game: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
