Tom Brady was shown sitting in the Las Vegas Raiders coaching booth while wearing a headset during the team’s “Monday Night Football” game against the Chargers at Allegiant Stadium.
Brady is a minority owner of the Raiders. He also works as a booth analyst for NFL games broadcast on Fox, and the NFL has placed certain restrictions on him to prevent any conflicts of interest concerning his dual roles.
Yet the phrase “conflict of interest” has come up quite a bit on social media — go ahead, search it on X (formerly Twitter) — regarding the optics of an NFL broadcaster hanging out with Raiders coaches and apparently communicating with others in the organization through a headset,
The NFL said Tuesday, however, that Brady doesn’t appear to have done anything wrong.
“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game. Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner,” NFL chief spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement emailed to The Times. “All personnel sitting in the booth must abide by policies that prohibit the use of electronic devices other than league-issued equipment such as a Microsoft Surface Tablet for the Sideline Viewing System.”
Also during the Raiders’ 20-9 loss to the Chargers, ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported that Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly told him that Brady speaks with Kelly multiple times a week to discuss game plans and break down film. Asked about the report after the game, Raiders coach Pete Carroll said it is “not accurate.”
“We have conversations — I talk to Tom, Chip talks to Tom — regularly,” Carroll said. “We have a tremendous asset and we all get along well and we respect each other. And so we just talk about life and football and whatever. … He has great insight and so we’re lucky to have him as an owner.”
During the 2024 season, Brady’s first as both a broadcaster and a team owner, he was not allowed to attend the weekly production meetings during which the Fox crew meets with coaches and players ahead of that week’s game. That restriction was lifted going into this season.
While McCarthy did not specifically answer a question from The Times about Kelly’s reported comment about his talks with Brady, it would appear that the NFL is confident that the restrictions it has in place would prevent Brady from acquiring any information any non-owner wouldn’t be able to gather.
“Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings,” McCarthy said in his statement. “He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple times, including for the Super Bowl. Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions.”