“That’s a shame”: Fox Sports president Brad Zager have criticized the notion that Tom Brady's Raiders role may present a conflict of interest

Tom Brady, Fox's lead NFL color commentator, is facing criticism for his dual roles as Fox's lead NFL color commentator and minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, serving as a key advisor to principal owner Mark Davis.

Tom Brady will make his Super Bowl debut at Super Bowl LIX on February 9, marking his first year calling games for Fox alongside Kevin Burkhardt. According to reports, meanwhile, he said to have an ear for Davis in remaking the Raiders: the looming hiring of a head coach and a general manager, for starters.

Brad Zager has dismissed Tom Brady's apparent inability to multitask

Tom Brady has faced plenty of criticism for what some have dubbed is a conflict of interest, but Fox Sports president of programming and production Brad Zager doesn't share those concerns at all. While speaking to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, he pointedly dismissed the idea that Brady can't or shouldn't do both jobs.


“To me, the questioning of someone’s integrity to say there is a conflict of interest is ridiculous and that’s a shame,” Zager said. “Is there a conflict of interest Monday night when Kirk Herbstreit calls Ohio State in the national championship game? Was there a conflict of interest of Joe Davis calling the (Los Angeles) Dodgers in the World Series?

“For somebody to say there’s a conflict of interest in that Tom Brady can’t go in a booth and call a (Detroit) Lions game because the possibility of a Raiders coaching search could include, maybe people from Detroit, maybe from (the) Washington (Commanders), maybe from any team—since they haven’t hired anyone yet—is questioning his integrity. It’s questioning his professionalism. I just don’t understand it on any level.”

Herbstreit and Fox's Davis, in examples separate from that of Brady, are freely vocal about their alma mater. Davis refers to calling Dodgers games his day job; neither, however, have the same kind of direct incentive for the money related to the success of their teams. Despite rumors circulating stating Brady was likely to step away from broadcasting, his agent, Don Yee, said the legendary quarterback will fulfill his 10-year, $375 million deal.


“Tom has had a tremendous amount of fun working with Fox this year, and he’s really excited about the future with Fox and his growth on their team,” Yee told the Sports Business Journal’s Ben Fischer. “And this year was the first year of a long relationship.”

Whether Brady’s dual role eventually becomes too glaring of a conflict of interest for himself or Fox remains to be seen. But it seems like as long as he abides by the league’s rigid rules, Brady can continue with his one-of-a-kind career.

Also Read: Will Tom Brady not be returning for a second year as an NFL analyst for FOX? His agent confirms his future plans