As a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Tom Brady has some pretty unique rules that he must follow as a Fox broadcaster. But until now, the NFL has been rather silent on just how strict those rules are.
Before Tom Brady began his first season as a broadcaster and analyst for Fox, it was revealed that Brady would be prohibited from criticizing league officials and other clubs.
Obviously, serving as an analyst without having the ability to criticize other teams or officials is no easy task as the very nature of the job entails criticism at times. Needless to say, this put Brady in a tough spot.
But after Brady appeared to violate these rules this weekend, the league has broken its silence on the matter and offered a bit of clarification.
Over the weekend, Brady criticized the NFL’s officiating when the league decided to eject Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch from the game after he hit Green Bay Packers receiver Bo Melton in the head.
“I don’t love that call at all,” Brady said during the broadcast. “Obviously it’s a penalty, but to me, there has to be serious intent in a game like this.”
It certainly seemed like Brady was criticizing the referees, which appeared to violate the special rules he must follow as a broadcaster. But the NFL has now broken its silence on the matter.
NFL Chief Spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Sports Business Journal that as long as Brady is not “egregiously critical” of the referees, he would not be punished.
“The concern would be if Tom was egregiously critical of officiating or called into question the integrity of an official or the crew,” McCarthy told SBJ today. “That did not occur in this instance.”
That adds some important parameters for Brady moving forward.
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