While the NFL won’t prevent broadcasters from having direct relationships with teams (it should), restrictions will apply to anyone who decides to own or work for one of the 32 franchises. After initially saying that Troy Aikman’s role with the Dolphins will be addressed at the appropriate time, the fact that the season is approaching has made the timing appropriate. And, like Fox analyst/Raiders owner Tom Brady, ESPN analyst/Dolphins employee Troy Aikman will have restrictions regarding his television work. “The same parameters that applied to Tom last season will continue this year and will also apply to Troy,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Front Office Sports’ Mark Maske. So what are the parameters that will apply to Brady and Aikman? “Both will be able to attend production meetings virtually, but will not have access to practice or practice facilities,” McCarthy said. “They could conduct interviews outside the team facility with football staff and players. They could conduct the interview at the team hotel in a separate area from the rest of the football staff. They could broadcast matches involving their own club.” Otherwise, the league remains defensive about the notion that a league-wide broadcaster role and direct financial interest in one of the teams should never be allowed. “There have been no problems with Tom the last two seasons,” McCarthy said. “It’s up to the coaches and the clubs what they share with him. If they share information that they shouldn’t, then that’s up to them.” Beyond the fact that coaches and clubs shouldn’t have to tiptoe around what they say when cooperating with the NFL’s broadcast partners, the NFL shouldn’t want the people broadcasting its games to be less prepared than they could be. The conflict is obvious; Otherwise, neither Brady nor Aikman would be restricted. And the restrictions make it harder for Brady and Aikman to fully inform viewers about what’s happening on the field. This is in the league. When Brady tried to buy a piece of the Raiders (at a bargain price), the league should have forced him to choose a lane: broadcaster or owner. If they had done it with Brady, Aikman wouldn’t have tried to double-dip. This is what Cris Collinsworth, Kirk Herbstreit, JJ Watt and any other analyst who can earn another salary working for a team have done. The league is fine with it and other teams are missing out on the insights that can be gleaned by someone traveling to different stadiums and talking to different coaches, players and executives.
