Tom Brady has retired from the NFL, but he hasn’t stepped out of the spotlight. Instead, the seven-time Super Bowl champion has plunged into multiple new roles: part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and FOX’s $375 million lead NFL analyst.
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Yet, this unusual and one-of-a-kind overlap of responsibilities is beginning to draw criticism, and the optics have only intensified after Brady was recently spotted in the Raiders’ coaches’ box with a headset during their Week 2 loss against the Chargers.
The conflict is clear: as a minority owner, Brady works closely with Raiders leadership, reportedly speaking with OC Chip Kelly “two to three times a week” about film and game plans, per ESPN’s Peter Schrager. At the same time, as FOX’s No. 1 analyst, he is tasked with fairly covering all 32 NFL teams, which involves attending production meetings.
Critics argue that this arrangement raises legitimate questions of integrity, since Brady could potentially gain insight from other teams, not named the Raiders, and relay the game plan to his own team.
And amongst the ones critical of TB12’s conflicting responsibilities is former NFL safety Ryan Clark, who voiced those concerns bluntly on The Pivot podcast, saying Brady simply can’t do both without creating uncomfortable implications.
“Tom can’t have every damn thing. I think Tom Brady has to make a choice. He’s going to have to make a choice of whether or not he’s going to own a team or he’s going to be on the A team of a network that calls games,” Clark said.
For the ex-Steelers star, the issue isn’t just perception … it lies with the threat that comes with the GOAT’s unique football brain. “This is the greatest quarterback of all time… there’s no man in the world, probably outside of Peyton Manning, that could process football the way that this man could,” he noted.
Giving Brady access to both the Raiders’ internal discussions and other teams’ weekly production meetings, Clark argued, would be a “level of unfair that… if we’re trying to protect the shield, it has to be looked at. Because that dude, with more information, is scary.”
The former safety also made it clear that even if no direct advantage was ever proven, the situation still raises red flags. “Whether or not it’s an advantage, it just doesn’t feel right,” he said, echoing the sentiment that many around the league have begun to share.
Tom Brady can’t have it all y’all!! He’s one of the brightest football minds in the history of the game. He knows what it looks like when he’s commentating games in the booth 1 day, & in the sitting behind Chip Kelly with head phones on the next.
Whether or not it’s an… pic.twitter.com/51ToCBWDGr
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) September 20, 2025
While Commissioner Roger Goodell has repeatedly emphasized Tom Brady’s efforts to separate his duties and even Raiders HC Pete Carroll has downplayed concerns, calling Brady “a tremendous asset” and nothing more, critics still aren’t convinced.
Still, Clark’s words cut through the technicalities and address what’s truly undeniable.
Brady isn’t just any former player turned commentator. He’s Tom Brady, the GOAT, the one who became the greatest by optimising the resources to the fullest. So, isn’t it a fair concern to think what Brady can make of seemingly innocuous data?
This is why there is some merit in Clark’s take, as Brady being Brady does make the situation feel different.
