As a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, the rules and restrictions Tom Brady has faced in his first year as the lead NFL color commentator for Fox have been well documented. Once his ownership stake was approved, Brady wasn’t allowed to attend production meetings with teams or have access to their facilities, coaches, or players. Brady was also prohibited from criticizing referees and other teams during broadcasts as an NFL owner.
With Brady having just a 5% ownership stake in the Raiders however, there were questions about how involved he would be with the franchise. Following the Raiders’ parting of ways with head coach Antonio Pierce however, it has been reported that Brady will have a major voice within the franchise, putting his broadcasting future potentially in doubt.
What Tom Brady’s Ownership Stake in Raiders Means for His Broadcasting Future
After his dismissal this week, Pierce joined former New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo as the two “one-and-done” coaches from this season, meaning they were each fired after just one year on the job.
Although not unheard of, one-and-done coaches are typically rare. Including Pierce and Mayo, there have been a total of 11 non-interim head coaches who didn’t make it to a second season.
While the Raiders greatly underperformed this season with a 4-13 record, and Pierce made plenty of mistakes along the way, he is just one year removed from leading Las Vegas to a 5-4 record as interim head coach after taking over for Josh McDaniels in 2023.
Considering the short leash Pierce had on the job, combined with the fact that he was reportedly very popular in the Raiders’ locker room, it has been reported that Brady’s presence played a large factor and that he is going to be a major influence in shaping the future of the franchise.
It will be interesting to see how much influence Tom Brady will have in this next Raiders coaching search.
I’m told it will be a lot.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 7, 2025
If Brady is going to be heavily involved with the Raiders, what does that mean for his broadcasting future?
Prior to the dismissal of Pierce, The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, a veteran sports media industry reporter, wrote in his bold predictions column for 2025 that Brady will walk away from Fox.
“I’m going bold and saying Brady gets deeper involved with the LAs Vegas Raiders in the offseason and decides to go all in with NFL ownership and his production company by the start of next NFL season” said Deitsch.
While nothing is set in stone just yet, and Brady will be in the booth for Fox’s playoff games, Deitsch appears to be on potentially the right track since publishing this column. If Brady is going to emerge as a leading voice inside the Raiders’ organization, than how can he continue to work at Fox?
Brady is finishing up the first season of the 10-year, $375 million contract he signed with Fox prior to retiring from the NFL. After replacing Greg Olsen as Fox’s lead NFL analyst, Brady received poor reviews early in the season before showing improvement down the stretch, even despite the unprecedented restrictions he faced as a minority owner.
