There’s likely very little that Tom Brady hasn’t heard in the realm of fan criticism. Forget the harshest jokes from The Roast of Tom Brady, he’s widely considered to be the greatest quarterback of all time, which leaves the fans of roughly 31 NFL teams to hate his guts. With his playing days in the past, however, Brady has now transitioned to the broadcasting booth, and while it’s to be expected that he’d still have plenty of naysayers regarding his talent in the new role, his commentary during one game might have actually gone against the league’s rules.
The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers played on Fox on Sunday night, with Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady on the call. In the second quarter, the officials in the NFL’s replay center in New York made the controversial decision to eject Lions safety Brian Branch for a helmet-to-helmet collision with the Packers’ Bo Melton. You can see the play and hear Brady’s reaction to it below:
Lions DB Brian Branch has been ejected from the game after a helmet-to-helmet hit. pic.twitter.com/wgX5m9AOGrNovember 3, 2024
Whether the New York office made the right call about the ejection could be argued for days — and believe me, it will be — but the issue at hand involves Tom Brady specifically. The retired QB recently became a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, and therefore there are rules Brady must follow in his role as a broadcaster. One of those rules states he’s prohibited from publicly criticizing game officials or other clubs. Many fans thought he did just that in his commentary of the Lions-Packers game, as they wrote on X (Twitter):
- Whether it's the correct call or not, definitely notable to hear Brady criticize an officiating decision, something he's technically forbidden to do as a partial owner of the Raiders 👀 – njh287
- Tom Brady wasn’t allowed to criticize the officials I thought as a part of his ownership deal. That surely sounded like criticism after the ejection. – houseofburgh412
- I thought Tom Brady isn’t allowed to criticize refs under the terms of his minority ownership. Also heard him speak positively of the Raiders when he was talking about Jacobs. Hmmm – buttnerme
- So much for Tom Brady not being allowed to criticize NFL refs….. Clearly disagreed with that ejection. – PatsBuzz
Will Tom Brady face repercussions for his comments? I think it’s going to come down to the official language of the rule, because — as is unwittingly pointed out in that last tweet — there’s a difference between Brady disagreeing with the refs and criticizing them. This was the Fox broadcaster’s exact quote:
I don't love that call at all. I mean, obviously it's a penalty, but to me that has to be serious intent in a game like this.
The rule, as reported by ESPN, states that Tom Brady could, in theory, disagree with a call on air but would be subject to fines or suspension if he went too far. That’s pretty vague language, because who’s to say how far is too far?
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, because if nothing else it might serve as a shot across the bow for the exorbitantly paid broadcaster in regards to how he reacts to future rulings he doesn’t agree with.