It’s one thing for a former player or a broadcaster to comment on matters that fall within the realm of rights and obligations negotiated between the NFL and the NFL Players Association. It’s quite another for an owner to do it.
Tom Brady owns a piece of the Raiders. He’s part of management. In a recent podcast appearance, Brady shared his views on one of the collectively-bargained realities of playing in the NFL — the fine system for on-field infractions.
And Brady took a distinctly anti-management and pro-player position.
“What they start doing is they start fining you $50,000, $75,000,” Brady said on the Stick To Football podcast. “And I’m saying, like, I hate that. I hate the fact that, like, you sign a contract for $2 million a year, $5 million a year, and it’s so easy for someone to say, ‘Give me $75,000. Give me $50,000. Oh, it’s your second offense? That’s $100,000. That’s your third offense, $200,000.’ . . .
“What job is like that in the world? Where you make a mistake at your job, and they come in, they go, ‘Hey, we’re gonna take your salary away.’ And then people are like, ‘Yeah, you should take his salary away.’”
The NFL Players Association would wholeheartedly agree with this specific NFL owner. That’s the thing Brady needs to remember. Even when he’s not wearing his ownership hat, he’s still a member of ownership. And the NFL doesn’t like it when owners start saying things that could weaken certain rights the league has under the CBA.
Which means that, the next time Brady does an interview, someone should ask him what he thinks about grass versus turf. Or 18 regular-season games. Or reducing the players’ share of the revenue pie.
And the NFLPA should be paying close attention, and it should be taking notes.
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