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At this point, the question isn’t really whether Tom Brady can figure out how to become – and remain – an upper echelon NFL broadcaster. First, while the bar is set moderately high, it doesn’t stretch to infinity. Second, Brady is a quick study, as anyone watching the Fox broadcasts could surmise.
So that’s not it. The question, instead, is how seriously viewers take Brady’s part ownership of the Vegas Raiders, and whether they think it colors what the man says on air.
Brady has had a couple of broadcasts since his buy-in on the Raiders became official, and there’s not much to make of it so far. He was pretty positive (but why not?) while doing the Chiefs-49ers Super Bowl rematch, and last weekend’s Bills-Seahawks broadcast will be remembered, if it’s remembered at all, for Brady using the word “spaz” to describe Josh Allen’s early work as a pro quarterback.
But the NFL’s restrictions on owners, including partial owners like Brady, are real enough. Owners are not to criticize the referees, for example. How does Brady get through a game without doing that, when he did it all the time as a player?