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Fox Sports commentator and Las Vegas Raiders part-owner Tom Brady was spotted wearing a headset in the coach's booth during a Monday Night Football game between the Raiders and the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers.
The sight of Brady in the booth has led to fans raising questions about a potential conflict of interest or violation of the rules set forth by the NFL dictating what the seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback can and cannot do in both these roles.
Brady was spotted sitting among the offensive coaching staff as ESPN spoke about how he worked with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly every week.
'Chip Kelly told us that he talks to Brady two to three times a week. They go through film, they go through the game plan, and Brady is a luxury for the coaches. Who else has an owner who's actually been there and done that,' said ESPN sideline reporter Peter Schrager.
Video of that interaction was tweeted out by the NFL on its official account with the caption '.@TomBrady and @Raiders OC Chip Kelly work closely together to help with the game plan [clapping emoji]'.
Moments later, that tweet was deleted. Daily Mail Sport has contacted the NFL for comment.
Tom Brady, center, was spotted among the coaching staff of the Raiders on Monday night
In the offseason, the NFL made an adjustment to the so-called 'Brady Rules' by allowing the former New England Patriots star to attend production meetings with teams he's commentating on.
However, Brady remains barred from attending team practices.
The video drew scorn from NFL fans across the league for what they believed to be a blatant flouting of fairness by having a commentator like Brady feeding information to his coaching staff.
For example, just this past weekend, Brady called a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Chiefs play in the AFC West, the same division as the Raiders, and will play Las Vegas twice this season.
Despite this adjustment to the rules, NFL fans slammed Brady for his actions on Monday evening.
'I know the [NFL] changed some rules for him when he is doing visits to broadcast. How is this still not a conflict of interest with his broadcasting duties and involvement as a partial owner who is actively coaching / contributing in the game?' commented one fan on X.
Another commented, 'Gotta be a rule somewhere this breaks.'
'How is that fair?' one Commanders fan wondered. 'Part owner who also happens to be a broadcaster who gets access to teams game plans and personnel throughout the season. If the Raiders were on my schedule no chance I’d let him. He just did our game last week [Week 1] and now we have the Raiders next week.'
Brady has commented two games so far this year: the aforementioned Eagles-Chiefs game and the New York Giants' season opener against the Washington Commanders.
He's set to call a late Sunday afternoon game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Chicago Bears for Week 3.
Incidentally, the Bears play the Raiders in Week 4.
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