The NFL might be tightening the vise even more on Tom Brady’s broadcasting restrictions.
Brady, widely considered the greatest quarterback of all-time, is in his first season of a 10-year, $375 million deal as Fox Sports’ top NFL color commentator.
After finally getting approved for a minority stake in the Raiders, Brady has faced a number of league-imposed restrictions on areas in which announcers typically do prep work, including observing practices and engaging in candid conversations with coaches and players in the days before games.
Brady is also not allowed to criticize officials, though that rule has already proven to have some leeway.
Sports Business Journal reported Tuesday that the NFL finance committee will discuss broadening these restrictions after Brady had an interview with Patrick Mahomes that aired on Fox’s NFL coverage last month.
“The interview itself 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 divisional rival,” the report said.
The committee will reportedly discuss whether to formally regulate that Brady’s conversations with players be fully live or recorded for the interviews, so that no sensitive information can pass through off the record.
There is also talk of making it so that these types of interviews have to happen away from teams’ facilities — and potentially hotels — and stipulating “prior approval and monitoring by the league and the players’ team to ensure the interview is within the rules.”
On this last count, it’s presumable Brady obtained clearance from the Chiefs or there’s about a zero percent chance he would’ve been interviewing Mahomes.
