Tom Brady is just a few days away from starting his new career as the main NFL commentator for FOX, with a deal that will earn him $35 million for each of the next 10 seasons, but the league has decided to impose severe restrictions on his work, such as prohibiting him from attending production meetings, accessing team facilities, or talking to players and coaches before the games he will analyze.
PUBLICIDAD
In addition to that, he will not be able to criticize referees or other NFL teams, which are the same rules that apply to other league shareholders.
PUBLICIDAD
The first to report this news were ESPN and Rob Maaddi from The Associated Press.
Why did the NFL take such a harsh measure against Tom Brady?
The American football league doesn't have anything special against TB12, but it is a measure aimed at resolving the conflict of interest that Brady has, as in addition to being a commentator, he has been waiting for over a year for the NFL to approve his purchase of a 10% ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.
If these severe restrictions were applied to who is considered the best player in history, it is likely that the NFL is about to approve Tom Brady entering the ownership of the Raiders as a partner of owner Mark Davis.
Brady and Davis are also partners in the ownership of the Las Vegas Aces, one of the teams in the WNBA, the women's basketball league.
How will the restrictions be applied to Tom Brady?
The broadcasting work of NFL games is very professional, and the league itself ensures that announcers, commentators, reporters, and producers from television channels can attend closed training sessions, which are off-limits to the press. They also have the opportunity to speak with quarterbacks, coaches, and other key players in the days leading up to each game.
These conversations are not published, but they become fundamental content for the broadcasting teams of each channel to carry out their work in the best possible way.
Tom Brady's first game will be on Sunday, September 8th, at 4:25 pm Eastern Time, when the Dallas Cowboys visit the Cleveland Browns. Commentator Kevin Burkhardt and reporters Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will have access to both teams, but not TB12.
The NFL will make Brady’s job as a commentator more difficult and in the long run it seems like they are forcing him to choose between working at FOX or being a minority shareholder of the Raiders.