Tom Brady’s first Fox broadcast back at Gillette Stadium came with a little bite after the Packers handled the Patriots on Sunday.
Brady, who has a statue outside the stadium and was back in the building for the first time in his role as a broadcaster, also had another reason to be watching closely: he’s an owner of the Raiders. That overlap is going to matter eventually, even if it didn’t on this trip.
After the game, Brady took a playful shot at Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
“There was some deli meat given out by Drake Maye today,” Brady said to Packers safety Evan Williams in a post-game interview.
Williams didn’t exactly push back.
“I’m not gonna say that, but he was giving us some gifts, for sure.”
The exchange was good-natured, and it fit a phrase that has started to pop up around the league. “Deli meat” has become a shorthand insult after Rams safety Quentin Lake used it to describe Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert following the Rams’ Week 8 win over the Chargers. Lake later apologized.
Brady’s comment also underscored the awkward reality of him calling NFL games while holding a stake in the Raiders. So far, Fox has avoided putting him on a Raiders broadcast, and that arrangement can continue for now.
At some point, though, the issue becomes harder to dodge. If the Raiders are ever in a game Brady is scheduled to call, the conflict gets real. The only scenario that would make it unavoidable is a Raiders Super Bowl appearance in a year Fox has the broadcast.
That’s a slim path to worry about. The Raiders have reached the playoffs only twice since 2002, and they haven’t won a postseason game since then.
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