‘Paranoid and distrustful’: Brady addresses criticism over roles

As Tom Brady continues to balance his roles as a minority owner of the Raiders and the lead analyst for Fox NFL games, the tug-of-war over those two jobs figures prominently this week.

The Raiders host the Bears on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium. The game comes a week after Brady was the color analyst for Chicago’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, meaning he had access to Bears coach Ben Johnson, a typical function of members of the broadcast team.

That raises the conflict of interest questions that arose almost from the moment Brady was approved as a limited partnership owner of the Raiders while also working on Fox telecasts. Hence, the NFL’s restrictions to severely limit Brady’s access to players and coaches, whom he can only meet with virtually, and how he is not allowed to watch practice or step foot in another team’s facility.

The restrictions were in response to concerns that Brady would use information he gleaned in his role as a broadcaster to assist the Raiders.

Brady addressed that concern in his weekly newsletter, “Do Your Job,” which was published Wednesday. He pushed back on the notion that he would not conduct himself in an honorable way.

“I love football. At its core, it is a game of principles,” he wrote. “And with all the success it has given me, I feel I have a moral and ethical duty to the sport, which is why the point where my roles in it intersect is not actually a point of conflict, despite what the paranoid and distrustful might believe. Rather, it’s the place from which my ethical duty emerges: to grow, evolve and improve the game that has given me everything.”

He added: “When you live through uncertain and untrusting times like we are today, it is very easy to watch a person’s passions and profession intersect, and to believe you’re looking at some sort of dilemma. Because when you’re blinded by distrust, it’s hard to see anything other than self-interest.”

Johnson doesn’t see issue

Johnson, in his first year as a head coach, told Chicago reporters last week he was not concerned with talking to Brady so close to the Bears’ game against the Raiders, partly because he’s in control of what he says during production meetings.

“I’ve been careful with everything I’ve said since the season started,” Johnson said. “I’ve been in pure ‘coach speak’ mode since this season has started. It’s just business as usual. I’m just fine. I like Tom, and we have a really good relationship.”

As Johnson pointed out, teams are so sophisticated that they rarely remain static from one game to the next. In other words, the version of the Bears that Brady studied last week could look completely different from the one that takes the field against the Raiders.

“I’m really not worried about it,” Johnson said. “We change week to week in terms of what we do. Schematically, he’s going to be able to turn on the tape and see what everyone else in the world is seeing right now.

“Personnel-wise, really the same thing. It’s not like I’m going to sit down with him and say, ‘Hey, don’t do this to Caleb Williams or you might get it!’ There’s not going to be any trade secrets that are going to be exchanged.”

Johnson’s position mirrored that of Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer, who also interacted with Brady as part of last week’s preparation.

“Everybody has everybody’s playbooks,” Schottenheimer told Dallas media. “Everybody knows somebody that knows somebody that’s been someplace. I don’t have a problem with (Brady’s situation). Some people might, but I’ll talk football with anybody. What Tom does with his ownership position is up to Tom.”

Carroll, Johnson, Brady ties

It’s interesting how different things could have looked Sunday.

Raiders coach Pete Carroll interviewed for the Bears’ job before talking with the Raiders. And Johnson, the Lions’ offensive coordinator at the time, interviewed for the Raiders’ opening.

Johnson initially wasn’t interested in the Raiders’ job, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The Raiders were even told not to submit a request slip to the Lions asking for permission to interview him. But Brady convinced Johnson and his agent to at least take the interview.

Johnson, according to a person with knowledge of situation, had a “very good interview” with the Raiders and “felt good about their vision.” But he chose the Bears’ offer instead and the chance to work with Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.