When the Raiders fired coach Pete Carroll, the official announcement explained that, “[m]oving forward, General Manager John Spytek will lead all football operations in close collaboration with Tom Brady, including the search for the club’s next head coach.”
Brady’s ability to collaborate closely has taken a back seat to his ongoing job with Fox.
“My preparation is very much centered around what I have to do in broadcasting,” Brady told Andrew Marchand of TheAthletic.com. “I love, obviously, having a chance to be involved with the Raiders. To be a former player and have a minority ownership is like a dream come true.
“I couldn’t afford to pay to be a general partner. I did very well in my career. It’s awesome to kind of help shape and strategize and be a visionary for a team. I love being involved in football.”
Brady’s vision for 2025 didn’t go well, even if he hasn’t received widespread scrutiny or criticism for the disastrous outcome to the 2025 season. This year, it will be harder for Brady to distance himself from the results.
With Brady’s Fox obligations ending upon the conclusion of Sunday’s NFC Championship, he’ll have more time to spend on the Raiders. To do it right, he needs to be all in, like Matt Ryan in Atlanta. But that likely won’t be happening, not with Brady still chasing the kind of cash that would allow him to eventually become the majority owner of the Raiders, or another team.
For now, he’ll wear both hats. Even if they create a clear conflict of interest, about which no one cares.
They’ll care if/when the Raiders become a juggernaut. By then, it’ll be too late to do anything about it.
Despite the naysayers and the gaslighters, no team owner should be working as a league-wide broadcaster. In the abstract, it’s laughable. But with neither the league nor Fox telling Brady it can’t be done, a new standard has been created — one that fits perfectly within the contours of post-standards, post-truth America.
