NFL insider makes feelings clear on Tom Brady amid rising speculation of bailing on $375,000,000 job

Day 1 of the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs is in the books, and with that, any speculation of Tom Brady's conflict of interest between his day job and his role as a minority owner of an NFL franchise.

The seven-time Super Bowl purchased 5% of the Las Vegas Raiders last year and given that the Raiders are in search of a new head coach, there was a lot of talk about whether the Patriots icon should be allowed to be in the broadcasting booth in a game where Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson, the frontrunner for the Raiders job, would be heavily involved.

As it turned out, Johnson was involved quite a bit as he dipped into his deep bag of tricks to ensure the Detroit offense was on top of its game. While it ultimately didn't work out in the Lions' favor, any notion that Brady would avoid mentioning Johnson's name was put to rest when he and Kirk Herbstreit publicly discussed the Raiders HC job on live TV.

When Herbstreit asked Brady what it was like to get involved with interviewing candidates to coach the Raiders, the Patriots icon said:

"It's just been a great learning experience. What you realize is the league's full of great potential—and what I believe is, the resumes, the accolades, they're all earned by what people do on the field. You earn your opportunities, and you do your performance, and let that all do the talking, just as it should be, and as I did when I was a player."

NFL insider Ian Rapoport also expressed his feelings about Brady's performance in the Fox broadcasting booth on the night.

"A long season of critiquing Tom Brady. But in a high-octane, high-stakes game, Brady was excellent," he tweeted on Sunday.

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Tom Brady's agent pours cold water on speculation of NFL legend exiting Fox

While Brady owns just 5% of the Raiders, he has been heavily involved in the Raiders' search for a new head coach. Given that he also shoulders the responsibility of calling games with Fox, questions have been raised regarding the possibility of him being one-and-done in the broadcasting booth.

However, Brady's agent, Don Yee, made it clear the seven-time Super Bowl champ plans to stick with his day job.

“Tom has had a tremendous amount of fun working with Fox this year, and he’s really excited about the future with Fox and his growth on their team. This year was the first year of a long relationship," Yee told the Sport Business Journal.

Brady is approaching the end of the first year of the 10-year, $375 million deal he signed with FOX, making him the highest-paid NFL broadcaster with an annual salary of $37.5 million. Per multiple reports, former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is second on that list with a salary of $18 million a year with CBS, alongside former Cowboys QB Troy Aikman, who reportedly earns the same amount with CBS.

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