The NFL said on Tuesday that there are "no policies" that would prohibit Las Vegas Raiders limited partner Tom Brady -- or any owner -- from sitting in the coaches' booth or wearing a headset during a game.
Brady, whose partnership in the Raiders was approved last October, was seen on the ESPN broadcast sitting in the coaches' booth and wearing a headset during the Raiders' 20-9 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night. Given Brady's job as one of Fox Sports' lead broadcasters, his presence in the booth sparked questions online about his dual roles.
"There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game," the league said in a statement obtained by NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero. "Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner. All personnel sitting in the booth must abide by policies that prohibit the use of electronic devices other than league-issued equipment such as a Microsoft Surface Tablet for the Sideline Viewing System."
Brady signed a 10-year deal with Fox in 2022 (while he was still an active player for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) to call games with the network's lead play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt.
Brady began his announcing career last season while his stake in the Raiders was pending league approval, and the NFL placed restrictions on Brady's broadcasting access prior to Week 1 of the 2024 season.
Last season, Brady was not permitted to attend in-person or online broadcast production meetings and did not have access to team facilities.
The league is permitting Brady to attend production meetings remotely this season, and the NFL said on Tuesday that it is up to individual team's discretion to determine what information is shared with Brady.
"Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings," the league said in a statement. "He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple times, including for the Super Bowl. Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions."
Raiders head coach Pete Carroll addressed Brady's presence in the coaches' booth during his Tuesday news conference.
"I think Tom's tried to honor that really strictly and with all respect to the situation of, you know, concerns like you're talking about, and I think he's been really good," Carroll said. "He's not planning games with us; he's not talking to us about anything other than our conversations we have that are, really, that are random. They're not set up; they're not structured in any way. He knows. He's very respectful of what he does otherwise, and he's of the opinion that he doesn't want to be that kind of a factor and so he's not.
The Raiders next play the Washington Commanders, whose season-opener Brady called for FOX, on Sept. 21.