The days of Tom Brady ruling the NFL might be officially over since he hung up his cleats and moved on to commentary, but that doesn't mean the constant comparisons have slowed down, especially with a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes still playing on Sunday. Although some have already named him the greatest of all time over Brady, he still has a long way to go to accomplish that.
Generations of New Englanders will never forget that Tom Brady wore No. 12 (thanks also to his relentless branding efforts) or that David Ortiz wore No. 34 when he helped the Red Sox break the curse. Yet there are so many other examples of New England sports stars becoming linked with the number on the back of their jersey, to the point that some numbers are even retired by teams to honor those players.
For a retired guy, Tom Brady has a lot of jobs. He has a five-percent ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. He is also Fox's lead football announcer. Earlier this month, Fox announced that Brady will be making an "epic return from retirement for the greatest flag football event ever," which is, inevitably, going to be held in Saudi Arabia. There's also TB12, "the method inspired by Tom Brady," though who knows how much involvement he has here.
Are we just picking numbers out of a hat and reporting them? While we're breaking news... Elvis is doing the halftime show, and babe Ruth is gonna sign some autographs for fans. Also I heard Dave prefers floppy pizza. Who cares about facts right? 😂 https://t.co/1pBq2FTj49- Tom Brady (@TomBrady) September 22, 2025
"There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches' booth or wearing a headset during a game," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. "Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner. "All personnel sitting in the booth must abide by policies that prohibit the use of electronic devices other than league-issued equipment such as a Microsoft Surface Tablet for the Sideline Viewing System."
On top of the conflict of interest that comes with being both a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and a Fox commentator, and in between his duties as " guy who says fuck and denigrates Birmingham City, the soccer club he co-owns," Brady has now signed up to do some good old fashioned sportswashing. On Monday, Brady announced that he will return to the football field for the, ugh, Fanatics Flag Football Classic, a three-team tournament set to be held in March of 2026
That retriction has been lifted, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed to The Times on Wednesday morning. There is one caveat, however - Brady must attend those meetings remotely. He is still prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings, McCarthy said. Brady is allowed to interview players off site, as he did on occassion last year, McCarthy said.