Tom Brady's first broadcast as an NFL owner could be awful thanks to Raiders ties

Former New England Patriots QB Tom Brady was approved as a new minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders last week. On the surface, this is just another way for Brady to make even more money, and thus not necessarily news for those of us in a much, much lower tax bracket. But, Brady becoming an owner could have a rather large impact on his broadcasting career -- namely, it could limit his know-how in the booth.

As an owner, Brady cannot spend time in another team's facility, nor can he witness practice. Brady is supposedly unable to attend production meetings, which feels essential for the field he is in weekly. TB12 also cannot criticize the officials or other teams, meaning he has to be hopelessly optimistic. And, perhaps most importantly, he cannot tamper with other players. Tampering has a vague definition in the NFL, and too much praise on the broadcast could, depending on how the NFL sees it, be considered as just that.

Brady wants to have a prominent voice in the Raiders football operations, and while his ownership stake isn't as large as, say, Mark Davis, he still needs to watch what he says on live television or risk breaking the league's rules for NFL owners.

Tom Brady could be in for a rough Sunday in Week 7

I do not doubt Brady's ability to follow these rules, but he's already off to a rough start as a broadcaster. FOX is paying him a TON of money to call games alongside Kevin Burkhardt. They are the network's A team, meaning they call the best game on the slate every week. This week, that is a Super Bowl rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.

This should be a major test for Brady, who now has significant rooting interest in the Raiders. Can he keep it professional, all the while following the league's tampering policy ahead of a huge NFL trade deadline for the floundering Raiders? As if he didn't have enough to think about.

Most of all, the league's rules will test just how much fans value analysis in NFL broadcasting. Brady won't be able to provide the insight that a non-owner would give. He cannot regularly talk with the players and coaches on the opposing team. He will not be in production meetings. Brady's only broadcasting benefit is that he is Tom Brady.

That's something, but as we've noticed with Tony Romo over the year, eventually the ability to predict a play wears off. Such a gimmick can only last so long, as NFL coaches catch up and disguise their players better over time.

Brady is still adapting to his new roles, and that's bound to come with some bumps in the road. Sunday could be rough.