NFL owners put to rest concerns over Tom Brady's role with Fox, Raiders

Vincent Bonsignore, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Oct 22, 2025

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — The concern over Tom Brady’s roles as the lead analyst on Fox’s NFL coverage and a Raiders minority owner seems to have dissipated.

At least to those who matter most — NFL owners. It was a non-topic at their fall meetings this week.

“You guys have written about that already,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said.

When asked about the potential conflict of interest of someone holding an ownership stake in a team and being a game analyst — in which access to players and coaches and information are core parts of the role — Johnson brushed it off.

“I don’t have any concerns,” he said. “I want to win next week. That’s what I’m really focused on.”

That sentiment is shared by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who has pointed to the restrictions for Brady that guard against potential issues.

For instance, unlike other broadcasters, Brady is not allowed to step foot in team facilities or attend practices. The access he gets to players and coaches is limited to virtual meetings as opposed to the face-to-face meetings other analysts are allowed.

Owners put those guardrails in place when Brady was approved as a Raiders minority owner in October 2024. He was in his first season as Fox’s lead analyst, and there was concern within the league that he could use information he gleaned during his preparation to help the Raiders.

With the protections in place, Goodell said there shouldn’t be any issues.

“Where’s the conflict?” Goodell told Alex Sherman of CNBC.com in September. “He’s not hanging around in the facilities. We don’t allow that.”

Information underload

Raiders owner Mark Davis said he understood why fellow owners would put restrictions on Brady. But at this point, he thinks it’s a nonissue.

As Davis pointed out this week, the information that coaches and players share in production meetings isn’t exactly the type that would harm a team. They are typically guarded in those settings.

“Is the information even real?” Davis said. “It’s cat and mouse. It’s smoke and mirrors.”

That was backed up this season by Bears coach Ben Johnson when he dealt with Brady before his team played the Cowboys. The game preceded by one week the Bears’ game against the Raiders.

Johnson said he wasn’t worried because he controlled what he revealed.

“I’ve been careful with everything I’ve said since the season started,” he said. “I’ve been in pure ‘coachspeak’ mode since this season has started. It’s just business as usual. I like Tom, and we have a really good relationship.”

Davis also pointed out that plenty of game analysts have ties with other teams. For instance, former Cowboys quarterbacks Troy Aikman (ABC, ESPN) and Tony Romo (CBS) also are lead analysts.

“Anybody can sit there and call up their friend on the teams and ask what’s going on,” Davis said. “And there’s so much disinformation that teams give to the announcers.”