Tom Brady was accustomed to seeing yellow flags on the field throughout his stellar playing career, but the minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders raised some red flags Monday night by appearing in the team’s coaching booth during a home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
Brady, 48, who joined the Raiders’ ownership group last October, was spotted on ESPN’s telecast wearing a headset. Per the ESPN broadcast, the future Hall of Famer discusses game film and goes over the game plan with new Las Vegas offensive coordinator Chip Kelly every week.
Brady made his Fox debut as an analyst last season on a 10-year, $375 million contract.
Under looser restrictions than last season, Brady can now attend production meetings as part of his NFL broadcast duties with Fox, though he must participate in those discussions remotely. He still can’t attend practices held at team facilities.
Fans, coaches, players and the media are sure to speculate that Brady’s access gives the Raiders an unfair advantage, particularly when he is calling games for Fox involving teams that Las Vegas will face later in the season.
Fans posted on social media during the game, calling it a conflict of interest and questioning the fairness of giving Brady access to future opponents.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner will be on the broadcast team on Sunday when the Dallas Cowboys face the Chicago Bears, whom the Raiders play the following week.
This past weekend, Brady was in Kansas City to broadcast the Super Bowl rematch between the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, teams also on the Raiders’ schedule this season.
In Week 1, Brady was part of Fox’s broadcast of the New York Giants’ game against the Washington Commanders, who will host the Raiders on Sunday.
Las Vegas lost 20-9 to the Chargers on Monday.
