Adam Hill: Perception outweighs reality in Tom Brady drama

Adam Hill, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Sep 20, 2025

Published in Football

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LAS VEGAS — There is one important thing to make clear before attempting to wade into the latest tidal wave of controversy about Tom Brady’s alleged conflict of interest as a minority owner of the Raiders and the lead analyst on Fox.

The future Hall of Famer doesn’t care what anyone thinks about the situation.

He’s not going to care about hurt feelings or screams of unfairness.

It’s part of what made him the most successful quarterback in NFL history.

And it’s part of what gives him a chance to thrive as an executive.

But the noise is growing louder again over whether the league should allow Brady to call games every week while playing an active role in the football operations of the Raiders.

National TV audience

It’s a debate that appeared settled until it was again thrust into the national discourse by one brief prime-time image of Brady in the coaches’ booth wearing a headset during the Raiders-Chargers game on “Monday Night Football.”

Then it got really loud really fast, almost as if fans and the media had forgotten he had taken on a far more active role with the Raiders in the past year.

Yet that brief clip set social media ablaze again. It didn’t help that Brady, maybe coincidentally, looks like he slinks down once the camera fixates on him as if trying to fade into the background like he was a tech executive caught at a Coldplay concert with his mistress.

Former Raiders coach Antonio Pierce added fuel to the fire with comments about how he would be uncomfortable with the situation had he been with a different organization.

Competitors light match

It’s here where we point out “Monday Night Football” aired on ESPN along with a seemingly hyper-inflated report about Brady’s level of weekly involvement in the game-planning. And Pierce’s comments came in an interview during which he also said he believed Brady played a role in his firing. Pierce works for CBS.

ESPN and CBS are competitors with Fox.

Just something to think about.

The reality is that teams should be smart enough to not share any proprietary information with Brady during production visits or on game days. He’s probably not gaining any insight that he can take back to the Raiders in the course of his role as a broadcaster.

This entire thing is most likely much ado about nothing.

But that doesn’t mean he should be allowed to carry on both roles.

They say perception is reality, but the reality is perception is almost more important sometimes.

And the optics are really bad in this situation. Especially because it’s Brady, who is a legendary competitor known for finding any loophole or exploiting any angle to gain an edge over his opponents.

It would be best for everyone if he wasn’t calling games.

The Raiders, in particular.

Major asset to organization

His Sundays becoming free and an ability to spend more time around the day-to-day operations could only benefit a franchise desperate to create a winning culture.

Well, at least on those days he’s not conducting practices for his Saudi Arabian flag football tournament.

There’s no guarantee Brady will be great as an executive. Many of the greatest players across professional sports have tried to re-create their success from the playing field and come up far short.

Turns out it’s tough to tell people to simply be as good as you were.

But there is a much better chance that Brady, one of the most tireless and intense workaholics in NFL history, can make it work if he has one task on which to dedicate his time.

Don’t count on it, though.

The most sure way to ensure Brady continues to dedicate his time to serving both roles is to keep telling him he can’t do it.

Good luck winning that battle of wills.

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