Raiders hiring Pete Carroll could create Fox, Tom Brady dilemma for NFL

Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady will finish his first season serving as Fox's lead in-game NFL analyst without having called a single Las Vegas contest. 

Media insider Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated believes that run could end next fall with the Raiders reportedly set to hire one-time Super Bowl champion Pete Carroll as their next head coach. 

For a piece published on Friday, Traina pointed out that the Raiders will face the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders as part of Las Vegas' 2025 schedule.

"My guess is at least a couple of those games will get prime-time slots," Traina explained. "CBS is in the mix for some of those games, too. But that will still leave one or two decent games for Fox to slide into its 4:25 p.m. slot on Sunday with Brady and (lead play-by-play announcer) Kevin Burkhardt behind the mic."

Despite protests from individuals such as Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, the NFL hasn't yet stepped in and stopped Brady from calling any game. Brady must follow strict guidelines regarding what he can say on the air and what's he permitted to do leading up to Fox assignments, but Traina noted that "calling a Raiders game is not among" restrictions the seven-time Super Bowl champion has to deal with as a broadcaster.

Interestingly, Florio spoke with Traina during the latest edition of the "Sports Illustrated Media Podcast" about how the NFL might handle Brady being assigned a Raiders game as soon as next season. 

"Fans are always looking for a, 'you’re against my team.' Hell, he owns 10 percent of the Raiders," Florio said about Brady's roles, per Brendon Kleen of Awful Announcing. "That’s a factor in what teams are going to look at or fans are going to look at when they’re trying to assess how objective he is or isn’t being." 

For what it's worth, ESPN routinely lets former Ohio State football player Kirk Herbstreit call Buckeyes games even though he clearly still has an emotional attachment to that program and to the university. For now, it sounds like the NFL would treat Brady similarly for at least one week if Fox gives the future Hall of Famer and Burkhardt a Raiders game later this year.