
Even in retirement, Tom Brady gets all the calls. The future Hall of Famer — and current broadcaster — will reportedly be allowed to attend Fox production meetings with coaches and players in 2025 despite holding an ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.
That's a reversal from last season, when the league barred Brady from attending those pre-broadcast meetings. The league originally banned Brady from attending those meetings because it did not want him to gather information on rival teams and then share that information with the Raiders. The NFL did, however, allow Brady to participate in production meetings prior to Super Bowl LIX.
While Brady could not attend those meetings last year, he still got all the information discussed in them. Brady's play-by-play partner Kevin Burkhardt and other members of the production crew reportedly informed Brady of everything discussed in those meetings so he would have talking points during the broadcast.
Brady will reportedly still face some restrictions in his broadcasting role. Though he will be granted access to production meetings, Brady cannot attend team practices, per The Athletic.
Both the NFL and Fox Sports declined comment when reached by The Athletic.
After a year away from the game, Brady began his first season as a broadcaster in 2024. He received mixed reviews in his debut season, though seemed to get better as the year went on. Brady, in particular, received praise for the way he handled the Super Bowl, where his experience losing the big game served him well. It's also possible Brady felt more confident and better prepared for the game after he was allowed to attend production meetings.
Brady has reflected quite a bit on his first year as a broadcaster, admitting he experienced some "growing pains" in the role. Given both his work ethic and excellence on the field, Brady has all the traits necessary to blossom into one of the game's most informative color commentators.
He may not reach that level in Year 2, but being allowed to attend production meetings should make a big difference.
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