Tom Brady's grand ambitions in his post-playing days have just been checked.
The NFL confirmed to ESPN's Seth Wickersham this week that if Brady is approved as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, he'll be subject to "unique and severe" restrictions in his role as a FOX broadcast analyst.
The restrictions would prevent Brady from attending production meetings -- where broadcasters meet with coaches and players to gain valuable insights that help them call games -- in addition to watching team practices and even being present at other teams' facilities. Brady also would be barred from publicly criticizing referees or opposing teams and would be subject to fines if he does so.
These restrictions would severely hamper Brady's ability to do his job in the broadcast booth -- perhaps to the point where he'd consider either turning down the Raiders ownership or getting out of broadcasting.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
As Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer explained Thursday on NBC Sports Boston's "Arbella Early Edition," that's likely the desired effect.
"My gut reaction is that the league is trying to tell him to pick a lane," Breer said, as seen in the video player above. "I do think the ownership situation is murky at best. … (Raiders majority owner) Mark Davis was trying to sell him a stake of the team for 50 cents on the dollar -- or less than that probably -- and wanted Tom Brady in the fold. And because that could affect the way other teams are valued, the owners weren’t going to (allow) that.
"They don’t like it when there are ceremonial pieces of teams sold to guys, especially when those guys are going to have a say in the organization. I think Brady eventually gets to the point where he wants to do that with the Raiders. ... But I certainly think this is the owners saying, ‘You can’t do everything. You’ve got to pick a lane.'"
NFL
NFL owners are right to point out a potential conflict of interest here, especially if Brady wants a role in decision-making with the Raiders. Production meetings are often candid discussions that involve game strategy and team philosophy, so Brady shouldn't be allowed to participate if he's directly involved with another team.
Preventing Brady from criticizing refs and opponents on the air seems excessive, but it sounds like this is the league's way of forcing the New England Patriots legend to choose between a broadcast career and NFL ownership.
"This is bad news for Tom Brady the broadcaster," NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Insider Phil Perry added. "... You're already telling a guy who's new to the job, and who I think it's in his nature not to criticize, that he can't do it? This could end up really wrecking what is already a questionable, in terms of its promise, broadcasting career."
Brady's stake in the Raiders has yet to be approved, but he's slated to make his FOX debut in Week 1 calling Dallas Cowboys vs. Cleveland Browns, so we'll find out soon enough if he waves the white flag on one of his post-retirement ventures.
