Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has made it clear. Tom Brady's dual role as Fox broadcaster and Raiders minority owner is a conflict of interest. Period. The only ones who don't seem to think so are Brady himself — and commissioner Roger Goodell, who once suspended Brady four games over Deflategate.
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Goodell, speaking to CNBC, downplayed the situation.
"Where's the conflict?" he said. "He's not hanging around in the facilities. We don't allow that."
As Florio points out, that line of thinking doesn't hold up. The league doesn't let Brady "hang around" precisely because of the conflict. The fact they have to limit his access is proof the conflict exists. You don't erase it by putting guardrails around it. The only way to remove a conflict is to actually remove it.
Brady, meanwhile, brushes off the criticism as "paranoia and distrust." In his view, those who raise the issue must have their own integrity problems. Florio calls that stubborn denial.
The reality is that Brady will have access others don't. He'll be on the field before games, mingling with players and coaches who won't snub him because he's Tom Brady — and because he might one day employ them in Las Vegas. That's valuable information-gathering for a minority owner.
Florio argues that other owners will only take this seriously if Brady uses his unique perch to help the Raiders return to prominence. At that point, the same people who approved his sweetheart deal with Mark Davis could scramble to add new rules that keep him out of production meetings and off the field.
Or they could do the sensible thing now. Tell Brady to pick a lane. Be a broadcaster of all teams or be an owner of one.
