Tom Brady is subject to five specific rules while after his mintority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders was approved. legend Brady has embarked on several new ventures since retiring last year.
He most notably signed worth a staggering $375million (£295m). But Brady's business ventures now conflict with his lead analyst role.
In addition to investing in WNBA team Las Vegas Aces and Birmingham City, Brady's second deal with Aces and Raiders owner Mark Davis was given the green light last month. His newly-minted five per cent ownership stake means he has to follow the so-called 'Brady Broadcast Rules'.
As per , those guidelines were established in the NFL's meetings in August and mean he's unable to criticise teams or referees, he's barred from entering team facilities, or attending practices, he can't participate in pregame production meetings with teams or players and he must comply with the league's gambling and tampering policies.
The ban on pregame meetings is particularly contentious as these are how broadcasters regularly provide crucial context for viewers. The Dallas Cowboys have expressed their desire for Brady to still be involved in theirs.
However, league regulations override any potential waiver they wish to give him, promptly quashing that notion. Brady can still commentate on Raiders games, a possibility some might have assumed was off-limits.
All in all, the rules cast serious doubt over his future at FOX. While he has shown steady improvement since the season's start, these restrictions could hinder any further progress.
Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com has questioned whether Brady is truly committed to the role. On John Ourand's 'The Varsity' podcast, he expressed: "There's been a sense that maybe Brady doesn't really want to do it anyway.
"Because you think of how thinly he's spread, all of the different things that he's doing, it may not be that he wants to be the absolute best at everything he does. It may just be that he wants us to think he's the absolute best at everything that he does, and he's doing a lot of different things and he's making a lot of different appearances and he's making a lot of money.
"Him being an owner and him being a broadcaster I think it keeps him from being the absolute best he could ever be. And it just always seemed beneath him - he's Tom Brady... I just wonder how many years he'll continue to do it."