Tom Brady has already complicated his much-anticipated broadcasting career

During his illustrious 23-year career, Tom Brady was no stranger to being subject to suspicion from paranoid NFL owners and fans alike. It's a common affliction that plagues consistent winners. No matter the context, Brady was labeled a cheater by those who struggled to explain how he was more likely to make the Super Bowl (48 percent) than Steph Curry is to make a 3-point shot (40.8 percent).

In 2024, the NFL is concerned Brady may have a competitive advantage once again, this time in the broadcasting booth.

Brady has pursued many professional ventures following his retirement after the 2022 season. Among them, the seven-time Super Bowl champion is set to serve as the lead color commentator for NFL games on Fox Sports.

While Brady can provide a more nuanced and experienced perspective than any other broadcaster or analyst, that's not the only trait that would set him apart from his media counterparts. Uniquely, Brady is seeking to become a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, which would conflict with his duties as a broadcaster with Fox.

Tom Brady's potential Las Vegas Raiders ownership conflicts with broadcasting role

On Wednesday, ESPN's Seth Wickersham reported that if NFL owners approve Brady's pending application to become a partial owner of the Raiders, the new lead analyst would be under strict restrictions that could hinder his performance in the role. The restrictions over Brady's ownership were presented to owners at the NFL's league meetings in Minneapolis last week.

Typically, network analysts have access to team facilities and practices, all of which inform their analysis during NFL broadcasts. Broadcasters also meet with NFL coaches and players during broadcast production meetings, which helps them game plan their own broadcasts. They're allowed to discretely gather this intel so that broadcasts offer informative insight and accurate context regarding the teams.

But if Brady becomes a partial owner of the Raiders, he will be forbidden from participating in any of the aforementioned activities. Additionally, Brady would be unable to criticize officials or teams as an NFL owner. He would also be subject to the league's anti-gambling and tampering policy.

These restrictions would make Brady's new broadcasting role excessively challenging, especially compared to his fellow Fox broadcasters, who face no such restrictions. Owners see the restrictions as a necessary boundary — without it, Brady could hypothetically gather intel from NFL teams ahead of broadcasts and relay that information to Raiders personnel.

Teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs, who are divisional rivals of the Raiders in the AFC West, have likely had enough of Brady. Since Kansas City began their dynastic run with quarterback Patrick Mahomes in 2018, two of their postseason runs came to an unceremonious end against the all-time great quarterback.

Swapping Brady out for another broadcaster would be easier said than done, and there wouldn't be that much benefit to replacing him. Fox signed Brady to a 10-year, $375 million contract, and the former quarterback will still add a great deal of value to the broadcasting booth, even without pre-game intel.

If all goes as Brady hopes, he'll enter an unprecedented stratosphere as the game's greatest quarterback, a partial owner in the league, and a premier broadcasting role that will likely continue for decades to come.