NFL Makes Major Tom Brady Ruling That Should Improve Super Bowl

If Tom Brady fails to meet the moment in his first Super Bowl appearance as an announcer, he doesn’t really have a good excuse.

Brady has been up and down throughout his first season in the booth with FOX. The eventual first year will culminate in a big way at a place Brady will largely feel right at home: the Super Bowl.

When Brady takes the air alongside Kevin Burkhardt, he might be even more prepared than past weeks, thanks to a key ruling from the NFL regarding Brady, who is also a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.

As The Athletic points out, Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt told reporters Tuesday that the NFL was waiving the rule prohibiting from taking place in production meetings with teams in the games he’s broadcasting.

Typically, the TV crews will meet with key figures from each team in the days leading up to the game, getting inside information — largely used on background — to give more context and color to the broadcast. Given Brady’s Raiders ownership stake, the NFL barred him from attending those meetings for competitive reasons.

For the Super Bowl, though, Brady will get to meet with the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles ahead of time.

“When (Brady) was approved as an owner of the Raiders, there were a lot of discussions internally (among owners) and that ended up being the recommendation of the league office, that it didn’t make sense to have him in the production meetings,” Hunt told reporters, per The Athletic. “That’s where that rule came from. Since he’s doing the game this week, we have no issue with him being in our production meetings. He’ll have the access that any broadcaster would have.”

This is probably best for the broadcast, but it’s notable that Hunt and the Chiefs letting that cat out of the bag. According to The Athletic, Hunt was one of the owners who wanted the guidelines. That makes sense, considering Brady’s Raiders share the AFC West with Kansas City.

Brady, however, won’t attend practice for either team.

There’s also a chance this provision has been overstated throughout the season. It’s not as if Brady wasn’t on the field prior to games, talking with players and coaches (and presumably executives) before the broadcast. However, in a game — and a telecast — that will be as scrutinized as the Super Bowl, every little bit should help, especially for a (broadcast) rookie like Brady.