NFL: Saudi Arabian flag-football tournament is not a league initiative

Tom Brady’s current professional activities feel less like the post-playing exploits of a seven-time Super Bowl winner and more like the origin story of the villain in a 007 movie.

Lost in yesterday’s a-ha moment regarding his Fox/Raiders conflict of interest is that Brady will be pocketing a presumably large amount of Middle Eastern oil money to stage flag-football games in Saudi Arabia, along with multiple current players. We asked the league whether it has involvement in the event, and whether the league and/or the teams have authorized the participation of players in non-NFL football.

The league responded in an email sent earlier today: “Fanatics made us aware of the event but this is not a league initiative. It’s up to the individual clubs to provide clearance for their active players to participate.”

It’s not currently known whether the teams have given the players their blessing. Paragraph 3 of the Standard Player Contract gives the teams the ability to shut down player involvement in any other football endeavor: “Without prior written consent of the Club, Player will not play football or engage in activities related to football otherwise than for Club or engage in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury. Player represents that he has special, exceptional and unique knowledge, skill, ability, and experience as a football player, the loss of which cannot be estimated with any certainty and cannot be fairly or adequately compensated by damages. Player therefore agrees that Club will have the right, in addition to any other right which Club may possess, to enjoin Player by appropriate proceedings from playing football or engaging in football-related activities other than for Club or from engaging in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury.”

In English, teams can tell players not to play any other football. And teams can go to court to keep it from happening.

That’s the current unknown as it relates to Brady’s flag-football cash grab. Have the teams said “yes” to current players named in the release, including Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, Sauce Gardner, Myles Garrett, Brock Bowers, Maxx Crosby, and Tyreek Hill? (Since Bowers and Crosby are both Raiders, it’s safe to say they’ll allow it.) Have the teams said “no”?

Or has the question simply been glossed over, with Brady assuming no one will tell him he can’t do whatever he wants to do? As to his dual roles with Fox and the Raiders, that approach is working. Very well.

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