Tom Brady hung up his cleats in 2023, but football runs deep in his veins. It couldn’t keep him away for much longer. And Brady iterated the same in his newsletter 199. “Since retiring from the NFL, life has taken me not away from football, but closer to it, by becoming a broadcaster for FOX and a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.”.
But this double job has pushed TB12 under a lot of scrutiny. It sheds a harsh light on the NFL’s murky gray areas of loyalty, ethics, and advantage. With the league watching, questions mount: Can Brady wear both hats without tipping the scales?
Tony Dungy, the former head coach who’s seen the league’s backstage like few others, gave his insights on this ongoing debate. “This is on the NFL. Tom is doing exactly what he should do, and he’s following the rules. No owner can go down on the sideline and talk to another team’s players and get inside information.”.
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As a broadcaster, Tom Brady has unparalleled access to coaches, players, and inside looks at team strategy every week. As a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, he holds a direct stake in the fortunes of the franchise. It’s definitely beneficial for Las Vegas, but it stings for the other teams.
However, Dungy feels there’s nothing wrong with using the edge over others. If you get it, use it. “The Raiders have an advantage now because Tom is allowed to do that. I think that is definitely an advantage. It is a conflict of interest, and Tom is wrong if he doesn’t use it. If I can go down there and talk, and then now next week we’re playing the Giants, absolutely I should use that information.”
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And Brady accepts the responsibility that comes with the role. In his weekly newsletter, he explained his two roles with a mix of passion and purpose. “As a broadcaster, I want everyone who tunes into FOX on Sunday afternoons to feel like they got their money’s worth for the three hours they entrust to our entire team,” Brady wrote. “For me, it’s to entertain and inform and to help create a great viewing experience by drawing on the deep well of knowledge and wisdom I have gained from playing high level football for nearly thirty years.”
Brady’s involvement goes beyond dollars, digging deep into the team culture and traditions. That kind of engagement, combined with insider access from broadcasting, fuels the very debate Dungy spotlighted: just how far can one man’s influence stretch? And it has finally got TB12 to address this whole scenario.
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Tom Brady addresses the controversy
When Brady finally addressed the swirling conflict of interest accusations in his newsletter entry titled Do Your Job. He didn’t dismiss the concerns outright. Instead, he reframed the debate as a personal and ethical responsibility.
“I love football. At its core, it is a game of principles. And with all the success it has given me, I feel I have a moral and ethical duty to the sport,” Tb12 penned down. “Which is why the point where my roles in it intersect is not actually a point of conflict, despite what the paranoid and distrustful might believe. Rather, it’s the place from which my ethical duty emerges: to grow, evolve, and improve the game that has given me everything.”
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For him, the intersection of his dual roles isn’t a clash but a call to serve the sport he adores. He emphasized helping young players, coaches, and even veterans improve and find success. He continued, “I believe that if I do my job as a broadcaster the right way, as best as I know how to do it, with passion and openness, with a helpful, positive, optimistic mindset, the result will be more informed fans who grow to love football the way I do.”
Still, the practical reality remains complicated. Brady’s unique insider access as broadcaster and minority owner means other teams might hesitate to share certain info with him, knowing Brady wears both hats. Coaches may guard playbooks tightly, and players could second-guess what they reveal around him. It’s an evolving tightrope walk with no precedent on this scale.