Tom Brady made the headlines for criticizing Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott. After the Bills lost 44-42 against the Los Angeles Rams, the former QB’s on-air comments were under the microscope.
Before the season even began, Brady was slapped with certain restrictions to his job as a Fox broadcaster due to his minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. Now, NFL insider Adam Schefter clears the air on the entire issue.
NFL Insider Reveals Issues Behind Tom Brady’s Broadcasting Restrictions
During the Bills game, Brady criticized McDermott for running the ball on the Rams’ 1-yard line near the end of the game. Several fans wondered whether Brady had crossed the lines regarding his ownership rules once again.
With a minute on the clock, the Bills attempted a QB sneak at the Rams’ 1-yard line, and they failed. This led to McDermott using a timeout. The 15-time Pro Bowler did not understand the logic behind the Bills HC’s decisions and called him out on air.
Tom Brady was FED UP with McDermott.
“That may have just cost them the game.” 🤣👏 https://t.co/fZhiFA3nBi pic.twitter.com/swug2Lgvno
— Pats Buzz (@PatsBuzz) December 9, 2024
“To me, take three shots throwing it, don’t use a timeout,” Brady said. “And then you can kick it deep, use your three timeouts, and still get the ball with good time. … Try the long field goal. That changes the entire complexity of the last [minute and two seconds] of the game.”
Schefter during his appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” cleared the air regarding this controversy: “That’s his job,” he said to McAfee. “I think some of those rules are a little overstated. Some of those people are a little sensitive about them.”
“Some of the owners in particular are a little sensitive about having a minority Raiders owner in their building. What are we talking about here? Tom Brady is professional enough to understand exactly what he’s doing.”
"Tom Brady is just doing his job and he's a professional..
If he wants to criticize what a coach is doing in a game that's his choice" ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive https://t.co/Psq09bHOJH pic.twitter.com/6LV8bbwFLk
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 9, 2024
Both Schefter and McAfee highlighted that the former New England Patriots man had done nothing out of the line. In fact, he was doing his job for which Fox is paying him $375 million on a 10-year deal.
During ownership meetings, while the details of the 15-time Pro Bowler were being discussed, the league had put sanctions on Brady — restrictions for his broadcasting job with Fox.
Under these restrictions, Brady can broadcast the Raiders’ games. However, he is not allowed to attend broadcast production meetings and will not have access to team facilities or players and coaching personnel. Brady must also abide by the league constitution and bylaws prohibiting public criticism of officials and other clubs.
Brady is expected to be in the broadcast booth for the Week 15 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Fox has not yet released its schedule for the upcoming games.