Tom Brady won't be prevented from working as a TV analyst on Raiders games – which could be a sensitive matter

The NFL said Thursday that Brady would not be barred from broadcasting Las Vegas Raiders games despite owning 5 percent of the team's shares.

Under the guidelines of his minority ownership interest in the Raiders, Brady is not allowed to be at another team's facility, attend another team's practices or participate in important pre-production meetings and interviews with coaches, executives and players.

However, the rest of the Fox broadcast team Brady works with will still have that access. And according to NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller, coaching staffs will not have the option to prohibit the rest of Brady's Fox broadcast colleagues from normal access to teams during the pre-production process.

“No, there is no aspect of the rule that gives coaches that discretion,” Miller said in a conference call with reporters Thursday in response to a question about whether coaches could exclude other members of the Fox broadcast team working with Brady.

Brady's ownership of the Raiders was unanimously approved at this week's NFL ownership meetings in Atlanta.

Having a minority owner of a team double as the primary broadcaster of NFL games is new territory for the league. However, the NFL's approach appears to be to juggle and resolve potential problems or unforeseen impacts as they arise. Among the other agreements Brady must adhere to in his broadcast duties, he will have limited leeway for his criticism of the league's officiating, as well as criticism of other franchises, including club owners. For example, if Brady were to make derogatory comments about a team owner, similar to what Bill Belichick did about Woody Johnson of the New York Jets, he could be fined or suspended.

But the potential point of contention over the interface between Brady's job at Fox and his partial ownership of the Raiders will continue to center on the information he has access to through his broadcasting duties. While Brady is unable to participate in much of the pre-production process for the games he covers, there is no known limit limiting his access to the information the rest of the Fox crew gathers in his absence.

In theory, this lack of a limit raises the question of whether Brady — and later the Raiders — could have access to insider information that gives Las Vegas an advantage in various areas.

An NFC executive addressed some of the potential consequences after Brady received approval as a minority owner of the Raiders earlier this week.

“In these (production) meetings, there are always a lot of questions about the roster or specific positions, and nothing stops them — other than someone putting the brackets — nothing stops a coach from confidentially sharing something that isn’t “would go on air,” said the managing director. “If (Brady) gets that information, maybe he knows something internally about our team that can help the Raiders.”

When asked for a specific example, the manager pointed to the trade deadline and presented a scenario in which Amari Cooper and Brady were covering a Cleveland Browns game.

“What if Kevin Burkhardt (Brady's cabin mate) finds out in meetings that Amari and Deshaun (Watson) have a problem or that trust in him has been lost or whatever,” the manager stated. “That’s good to know if you’re looking for a receiver.

“Amari is probably a bad example because he already played for the Raiders. But (Brady) did some Cowboys games, so let's assume it was Brandin Cooks instead. If the Raiders are looking for a receiver at the deadline and he feels like the Cowboys are all but done with Cooks, that's helpful for the Raiders to know. This information can be used against Dallas knowing they're done with the guy. (Raiders owner) Mark Davis is already saying (Brady) will play a big role in their football decisions, so how do you separate those two worlds?”

For now, it seems to be a question the league, Fox and Brady all want to address. Time will tell if this continues to be the case as Brady's role within the Raiders becomes more clearly defined – and if the Raiders as a franchise can turn things around. When that happens, when things like playoff seedings are up in the air and every bit of information is scarce, attitudes could change.