Why the Raiders Feared Tom Brady’s Presence in Their Coaches’ Box, According to Joe Buck

Last month, an unexpected spotlight found its way onto Tom Brady and the Las Vegas Raiders—something neither party was particularly eager to invite. The legendary quarterback, now inching closer to Hall of Fame immortality, was caught right where coaches plot and plan, inside the Raiders’ coaching box during a “Monday Night Football” matchup. Now, Brady isn’t just calling plays from the booth; he’s also pulling double duty as a Fox Sports color commentator and a minority owner of the Raiders—a combo that’s stirring the pot with whispers of conflicts of interest all across the league. What’s truly foggy, though, is just how hands-on Brady is with the team’s inner workings. While he’s painted his involvement as a “long-term, kind of behind-the-scenes type role,” murmurs suggest his influence might be far more pronounced than that. It’s a tangled web of roles and perceptions that’s led to quite a buzz in sports circles—and the story is far from settling down anytime soon. LEARN MORE

Tom Brady and the Las Vegas Raiders got the kind of attention they’ve been hoping to avoid last month when the future Hall of Famer was shown in the team’s coaches’ box during a “Monday Night Football” game.

Brady is currently juggling two roles as a high-priced color commentator for Fox Sports and a minority owner of the Raiders, which has raised conflict of interest concerns for many around the league. The most important question is what Brady actually does with the Raiders — he described his role in the past as a “long-term, kind of behind-the-scenes type role” but there have been reports to the contrary.

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Being shown with a headset on, advising the Raiders during the game didn’t help those concerns, to say the least. And it was all thanks to ESPN, a Fox Sports competitor, showing Brady on the MNF broadcast multiple times while reporting he has regular talks with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

ESPN’s Chris Fowler, Dan Orlovsky, Louis Riddick, and Peter Schrager on Raiders minority owner and Fox analyst Tom Brady, who’s in the coaches’ box tonight. 🏈🎙️ #NFL #MNF pic.twitter.com/fb0SfCqZLy

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 16, 2025

According to ESPN broadcaster Joe Buck, there was some blowback over that decision to show Brady.

Appearing on “The Pivot” podcast this week, the veteran play-by-play man said he thought the visual was worse than the reality for the Raiders, but did mention the team had some behind-the-scene grievances for his peers:

“I think it was more perception of it, than reality … It was the visual. The last person I’m telling what to do is Tom Brady. But yeah, I thought the visibility – and I know they weren’t happy that that got out, but he’s in a booth with a headset on.

“We’re all at least smart enough to know that there are cameras everywhere, and they’re gonna find you. Cameras found him and then it became a big thing and then just like everything else in the world, it goes away five seconds later and everybody moves on.”

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 08: Las Vegas Raiders owner and managing general partner and Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis (L) and Tom Brady laugh as they attend Game One of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs finals between the Aces and the New York Liberty at Michelob ULTRA Arena on October 08, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) — Tom Brady’s Raiders stake hasn’t actually done much to interfere with his broadcasting career. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

(Ethan Miller via Getty Images)

Buck expressed skepticism that Brady was building up any sort of competitive advantage for the Raiders, given the level of information available at the production meetings he was once banned from attending:

“That seemed a little too public to me. The headset with the Raiders. But I think the production meeting stuff is much ado about nothing .. The whole inside information, I don’t know what he’s going to get that’s going to help him as an executive for the Raiders. If other owners don’t like it, then I guess that’s their prerogative too.

Brady isn’t the first person to face these kinds of concerns — baseball saw a similar incident when the Los Angeles Dodgers objected to allowing ESPN color commentator Jessica Mendoza into their clubhouse when she was working as an advisor for the New York Mets. This is a far more public debate, though one that’s hardly stopping Brady from doing what he wants so far.