Ever since Raiders minority owner Tom Brady was shown with a headset in the Las Vegas coaches’ booth on Monday Night Football, opinions have flown about a conflict of interest with his broadcasting career.
Brady dismissed skeptics as “paranoid and distrustful,” but knowledgable voices like his former teammate Rodney Harrison have raised genuine concerns.
So what does the NFL Commissioner think?
In an interview with CNBC, Roger Goodell brushed off any notion of an unfair advantage and offered a simple solution for opponents in Fox’s production meetings with Brady.
“Teams have the right to say whatever they want to. They don’t have to disclose any information if they think it’s a conflict of interest,” Goodell told CNBC. “Teams don’t need to say anything. Sometimes they don’t say anything to somebody who’s not (a minority owner). We get a lot of former players that are in (broadcast meetings) that are close to their former teams. I think our teams are pretty smart about saying, ‘I’m not sharing something with him.’”
“Where’s the conflict?” Goodell added. “He’s not hanging around in the facilities. We don’t allow that.”
Harrison, who has worked at NBC for 17 seasons, believes even the minute information teams give Brady in production meetings could wind up benefiting the Raiders down the road.
“When it first panned to him with the headphones on, I’m saying, ‘He’s talking to one of the coaches. He’s giving them tremendous insight,’” Harrison said on Football Night in America. “And as a player slash businessman, I understand that Tom’s going to take advantage of every opportunity that he gets. I played 15 years in the league, but I’ve been a broadcaster for 17 years and it’s definitely a conflict of interest.
“Think about it: When we walk on that field, we get so much information. We get all the behind-the-scenes information, which, the average fan has no idea the type of information we’re getting. We’re getting information on players’ health, how a team was built, how tough a guy is. You could talk to scouts, coaches, general managers, and just people within the organization. They’re going to give you all this information. And Tom Brady’s a smart dude. He’s gonna use this. He’s gonna use it. It’s human nature to use the information. If he talks to (Eagles exec) Howie Roseman, or Howie tells him how he builds a team, you don’t think he’s going to take that back to the Raiders and use the same thing? And just think about free agency. If somebody told him, ‘Oh, this guy’s not very tough.’ When that guy becomes a free agent, he already knows, ‘Hey, I’m gonna back away from that.’ So it’s definitely a conflict of interest. It made me feel a little uncomfortable when I saw it and I think it’s an unfair advantage for the Raiders and Tom Brady, and the league has given them a pass.”
Harrison assumed that Brady’s duties would consist of hosting and relaxing, not actively assisting the Raiders on game days.
“It was just very uncomfortable when I saw him with the headphones on, because as an owner, I’m sitting back thinking that he’s gonna be in some suite, engaging in conversation, enjoying the game, and entertaining,” Harrison said. “And then you see Tom Brady up there with full headphones, so you know he’s talking back-and-forth to (offensive coordinator) Chip Kelly offering advice.”