If Derek Jeter invented the strategy of preemptive blandness, a verbal jiu-jitsu move that cloaks every utterance in a gauze of impenetrable nothingness, Tom Brady has earned a Vantablack® belt in the discipline.
Speaking to media reporters on a pre-Super Bowl LIX conference call convened by Fox Sports Wednesday, Brady used his well-honed deflection skills to effectively provide non-answers to questions that may have tripped up someone less schooled in the art of anticipatory evasion. When asked about his role as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Brady scrambled around the query like Fran Tarkenton making one of his patented 40-yard detours.
“I think my ownership interest in the Raiders is just much more of a long-term, kinda behind-the-scenes type role and I’m there to support the team and the leadership and the overall vision for success,” Brady said. “The best part for me is I love football so much and the fact that I get to be involved with it for the rest of my life and to showcase this great game—not just as a broadcaster, which is obviously one way, but in a limited partner role with an organization.”
Brady’s careful response was designed to defuse talk that he’s been pulling the strings in Vegas; recent reports suggest that the former quarterback played an active role in hiring new head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
Brady and his partner Tom Wagner, the co-founder of Knighthead Capital, in May 2023 agreed to take a 5% stake in the Raiders. NFL owners approved the transaction last fall. The vote was unanimous.
As a part-time owner, Brady was made subject to certain restrictions to his public-facing gig as Fox’s lead NFL color commentator. Among the standard broadcasting duties Brady has been asked to forgo include attending pre-game production meetings with coaches and players and sitting in on practice sessions. Those rules have since been relaxed as the seven-time Super Bowl champ prepares for Sunday’s Chiefs-Eagles broadcast.
On Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell tossed cold water on speculation that Brady may have run afoul of these rules, telling a scrum of reporters that “Tom has been incredibly cooperative.” Goodell went on to aver that Brady frequently has been in touch with the league about the particulars of his booth prep. “He says, ‘Am I doing OK?’ And I think he’s serious about making sure that he separates these two [roles] and doesn’t put the league or anyone in a position of conflict.”
While Brady gamely fielded every question that was asked of him during the 45-minute call, he weighed his words with the care of a cagey diplomat. To his credit, many of the queries were constructed around fairly negative sentiments—it’s difficult to imagine anyone else with his on-field résumé happily engaging with a slew of “what are you going to do to get better at your job?” barbs—and Brady’s clichéd responses were arguably the most efficient way to tackle the problem.
When quizzed on how he might improve his booth presence, Brady served up a generous helping of California-style positivity. “I think with the mistakes that I’ve made—and I’ve made plenty—I’ve learned from all of them,” he said. “You’re not happy they happened, but at the same time you understand that when they do happen—when I mispronounce words, when I forget a certain statistic and the preparation’s a little off in terms of my thoughts on something and I screw up the analysis—I go back and I want to get it right the next time.”
This went on for another couple of paragraphs, but you get the point. Perhaps no phrase better encapsulates Brady’s response than “you just have to give it your best.” Just believe in yourself, saith the GOAT, and whatever he lacks in the motivational-speaker department he more than makes up for with his bank account. (Brady reportedly raked in $37.5 million during his rookie season at Fox, and he’ll continue to cash checks in that amount in each of the next nine years remaining on his contract.)
For what it’s worth, none of this is a dig on Brady; after all, the ability to respond to a question (loaded or otherwise) with a wall of static is a savvy defense mechanism. When Jeter deployed his tactics during his similarly GOAT-ed career in New York, the attendant blandness of his answers served a dual purpose. On the one hand, the Captain’s acquiescence to the in-house rules kept YES Network in the loop and provided the Yankees’ RSN with all the soundbites and on-camera appearances that are commensurate with superstar status. On the other hand, by giving YES little to work with, Jeter avoided saying anything that might jeopardize his multiple endorsements or otherwise cause fans to reexamine his carefully crafted public image.
If Alex Rodriguez failed to audit Jeter’s daily masterclass in the art of saying nothing, Brady seems to have taken copious notes. That said, while his canny efforts to sidestep any potential controversies are understandable, the cautious version of Brady always seems weirdly at odds with the famously competitive Brady of old.
For example, it would have been a lot of fun to hear what the Microsoft Surface-smashing, helmet-tossing Brady might have to say about his presumptive successor on Mount GOATmore.
When asked what he thought about Patrick Mahomes, who looks to collect his fourth ring in New Orleans while notching the NFL’s first-ever threepeat, Brady was effusive in his praise. But on a personal level, what does the guy with all those titles think about the seemingly implacable force in Kansas City, and how might the prospect of watching Mahomes make history have an impact on Brady’s call?
Rather than acknowledging that Mahomes’ relentless pace may keep him up at night, Brady praised the younger man to the skies, marveling at his efficiency and drive to win. But if Mahomes on Sunday further closes the ring-count gap, Brady can still have the last word. In New Orleans, there are any number of places where a couple hundred bucks is all it takes to transform a 29-year-old man into an actual goat. Just putting that out there, TB.
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