The NFL made a major announcement about Tom Brady just before the former star QB is set to call Super Bowl Sunday.
Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the league will be reviewing its tampering policy given Brady’s role as not only a broadcaster for Fox but also as a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
What Is the NFL Policy on Tampering?
The NFL’s anti-tampering policy was put in place in 2012 to prevent contacting players or making deals before the legal tampering period ends.
Brady has become a target of this policy by the NFL because of his dual role as a broadcaster and part owner, because of that, the NFL has decided to review its tampering policy to make sure Brady, or anyone else, wouldn’t get an unfair advantage.
Goodell said: “Everybody in the National Football League … is still subject to tampering rules and other policy. They’re responsible for that conduct and they’re all held accountable for that. In this case of this actual transition, we had special rules that were designed for this. … Where could there possibly be any kind of conflicts? That’s something we’ll obviously consider in the offseason. … Tom has been incredibly cooperative.”
Goodell on Brady: “everyone in NFL is subject to tampering rules and other polices. Everyone is held accountable. In this case, there were special rules to make sure there are no conflicts. We will look at the policy in the offseason. Tom has been incredibly cooperative”. @PFN365
— David Bearman (@DavidBearmanPFN) February 3, 2025
While Brady has been cooperative, his bosses at Fox Sports aren’t happy at all with the NFL and came to his defense.
“To me, the questioning of someone’s integrity to say there is a conflict of interest is ridiculous and that’s a shame,” Brad Zager told Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.
“Is there a conflict of interest Monday night when Kirk Herbstreit calls Ohio State in the national championship game?”
“Was there a conflict of interest of Joe Davis calling the [Los Angeles] Dodgers in the World Series? For somebody to say there’s a conflict of interest in that Tom Brady can’t go in a booth and call a [Detroit] Lions game because the possibility of a Raiders coaching search could include, maybe people from Detroit, maybe from Washington, maybe from any team — since they haven’t hired anyone yet — is questioning his integrity. It’s questioning his professionalism. I just don’t understand it on any level.”
Surprisingly, there haven’t been many, if any, complaints about Brady tampering with any team despite his ties to the Raiders. Maybe the concern is coming from the upcoming NFL Draft where the Raiders are expected to pick sixth and his relationship with Colorado Buffaloes QB Sheduer Sanders may come into question.
Roger Goodell says Tom Brady "calls frequently" to make sure he's balancing his owner and broadcaster responsibilities appropriately. pic.twitter.com/5ADFYcC0r9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 3, 2025
Sanders has not hidden his love for the franchise and, in fact, he wants to play for them. Maybe some fear that Brady’s influence may steer a player in his team’s direction. There were already reports that Sanders won’t play for certain NFL franchises, and the fear may be that Brady can influence Sanders or give other players advice on how they can use their leverage to come to the Raiders.
Who knows? But it is strange that the NFL would try to do this now with Brady set to broadcast his first Super Bowl just days away.