There can be no doubt that Tom Brady’s dual role as minority owner of the Raiders and broadcaster for Fox creates a conflict of interest. And that conflict of interest has become enhanced by the fact that Brady isn’t just a passive holder of equity; as the Las Vegas Review-Journal recently reported, the Raiders are “Tom’s show now.”
Throw in the fact that he’s searching for a new coach, and it ratchets things up another notch.
It moves to an even higher level on Saturday night, when Brady works the game involving the man widely believed in league circles to be his top target for next coach of the Raiders: Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
In post-standards America, many will not be inclined to care. That’s their prerogative — assuming they at least know about it.
Folks in the media who might be inclined to downplay or disregard the conflict have the benefit of knowing about it. When upwards of 40 million tune in for Saturday night’s game that Brady will be working, many if not most of them likely won’t know that Brady isn’t a neutral observer or commentator when it comes to his potential objective to close a deal with Johnson not long after Detroit’s season ends.
Fox has an obligation to inform the massive audience that Brady isn’t a detached and neutral commentator. It should be disclosed to the audience before the game starts that Brady is an owner of the Raiders, that he’s actively involved in the team’s ongoing coaching search, and that he interviewed both Johnson and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn last week for the vacancy.
The audience needs to know about the Raiders’ interest in Johnson and Glenn so that Brady’s commentary regarding the performance of the Detroit offense and defense can be evaluated through that lens. If/when he excessively praises Johnson and/or Glenn — or if/when Brady fails to adequately criticize them — the audience can factor his potential interest in hiring either of them while absorbing his words.
That’s where the conflict of interest will manifest itself for Brady. As he processes the play that happened and formulates extemporaneously a 20-second (at most) evaluation of it, he’ll be caught between his duty to provide the Fox audience with his fair, honest, and authentic opinions and his separate interest in not saying something that will potentially complicate his effort to hire either guy — and/or in saying something that might help his cause.
If it seems that Brady is making excuses for Johnson or Glenn if/when things go poorly or is hyping them excessively if/when things go well, the audience will be able to scrutinize his words with full knowledge of his circumstances.
Obviously, the NFL and its teams have decided that Brady should be allowed to hold both positions, even if the restrictions placed on his pre-game activities (no attendance at practice, no involvement in production meetings, no admittance to team facilities) confirm the existence of the conflict. And, yes, at some point the other owners may decide that Brady’s unique ability to press his finger against the pulse of a constantly-evolving league by calling 20 or more games per year outweighs their desire to have a “cool friend.”
And, yes, the business is rife with conflicts of interest that most don’t know about. Some broadcasters (including reporters) are represented by agencies that represent players and coaches. Some reporters prop up the clients of their agent sources in order to keep the information flowing freely.
It’s a problem, especially when few if any know about it. In this case, the media knows about Brady’s conflict.
As a result, the full Fox audience for Commanders-Lions needs to know that Brady’s words while doing his job for Fox might be shaped by his interests as an owner of the Raiders. Fox has a clear duty to make that disclosure to anyone who has tuned in to watch the game, given that those who only follow the NFL casually might have no idea regarding his growing role with the Raiders.
Fox knows it. The question is whether Fox is willing to do it. Especially if Fox executives think Mr. Brady will have a problem with it.