IRVING, Texas — Raiders owner Mark Davis said he expects Tom Brady to have a “huge” say on the team’s future direction. Eventually.
Brady’s roughly 10% stake in the Raiders was approved by NFL owners in October. And as part-owner, he faces restrictions given his Fox broadcasting job; among other rules, he cannot criticize teams or refs and can’t attend practices. Davis said Brady’s involvement with team decisions has been limited as the seven-time Super Bowl champ focuses on his first season as Fox Sports’ lead in-booth analyst, duties that won’t end until after the network broadcasts the Feb. 9 title game.
“Obviously, them having the Super Bowl gives them an extra two weeks where he’s going to be tied to Fox,” Davis told a gathering of reporters at the NFL’s winter meeting Wednesday.
In May 2022, Brady agreed to a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox after his 23rd and final season in the NFL. Davis said he became acquainted with Brady when the Raiders tried to woo the superstar before the 2020 NFL season and before Brady signed with the Buccaneers and led the team to its second Super Bowl title.
“We expected this job with Fox and promised [Fox Sports CEO] Eric Shanks we would not get in the way of him doing his job,” Davis said.
Along with having more involvement with the team in the offseason, Davis hinted Brady could have more input on things during the 2025 season as he becomes increasingly comfortable with his broadcast workload.
“He communicates quite often, but it’s not a day-to-day role,” Davis said. “His role is undefined right now.”
One of the needs the Raiders have to address is landing a starting quarterback, either through the draft or free agency. On that front, Davis said he expects Brady “will have something to say” on the QB search along with GM Tom Telesco.
“He’s competitive and he’s very thorough in everything he does,” Davis said of Brady. “He has an innate way of communicating that other people can understand. I am excited and really grateful that he’s part of the Raiders organization.”
On the TV side, Brady had drawn mixed reviews during his first season in the booth. Initially, he seemed reluctant to rip players, coaches, and referees, which led to speculation he might be holding back due to his ownership role.
But Brady may have turned in his best performance of the season during Fox’s telecast of the Rams’ 44–42 win over the Bills on Sunday. Brady rightfully admonished Bills coach Sean McDermott’s poor clock management on the goal line as the clock wound down.
With the Rams leading 44–35 with 1:35 left in the game, Brady questioned why McDermott would call a goal-line quarterback sneak when he still had all three timeouts in his pocket. Instead, Brady said the Bills should have thrown three passes into the end zone, then attempted an onside kick. Josh Allen was stopped short of the end zone—and the Bills had to burn a timeout.
“I did not like that one bit,” said Brady. “That could have just cost them the game right there.”
On Monday, ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter dismissed the idea that Brady would face league punishment for criticizing McDermott’s coaching strategy.
“Tom Brady is going to do his job. If he wants to criticize a coach in the game for making the call, that’s his right, that’s what he should be doing,” Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show. “That’s why Fox is paying him the money it is.”
McAfee agreed.
“His analysis there? That’s why you have Tom Brady there. That’s exactly why you have Tom Brady there.”
As somebody who’s plugged into the league office, Schefter also scoffed at the idea that Brady’s minority stake gives him an advantage. A couple of team owners were “sensitive” about having a minority Raiders owner visiting their buildings. But Schefter thinks the issue is “ridiculous.”
As Schefter said: “I mean, what are we talking about here? Tom Brady is professional enough to know exactly what he’s doing. He’s not going to go to the practice and get on the phone and call [Raiders coach] Antonio Pierce.… Tom Brady is a pro.”
