Antonio Pierce Says Tom Brady Shared Other Teams’ Information With Raiders

We’ve reached the point in the Tom Brady conflict of interest story where Antonio Pierce is either playing the role of a whistle-blower or a disgruntled former employee. 

The reason for that is Pierce, out of the NFL since he was fired by the Las Vegas Raiders in January, went on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio Thursday afternoon and accused Brady of sharing privileged information with him that he (Brady) gathered during his duties as Fox’s lead NFL analyst.

All of this, of course, has become a thing this week since Brady was seen at the Monday Night Football telecast in the Raiders coaches booth wearing headphones. That snapshot of Brady, a club minority owner as well as Fox’s lead NFL analyst, brought up questions about Brady’s allegiances and whether he might use the TV job to help his team, the Raiders. 

Pierce Contends Brady Shared Information

Enter Pierce into the chat.

“This is unprecedented, what we’re seeing,” Pierce said on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio. “I think I would be uncomfortable if it was the other way around, to be honest with you. Because you’re not dealing with just a normal person. Tom Brady is the elite of the elite, one of the greatest quarterbacks, one of the greatest players in the game, played against him obviously, student of the game.

“It’s not hard for him to watch a few things on a Friday practice, or hear things in a production meeting and be like, ‘Hmm,’ and have tidbits. And you’d be foolish to think that he’s not going to share that with the Raiders, because we had those conversations about certain things.”

This is interesting because multiple current head coaches are on record as saying they’re not concerned about Brady sharing information with the Raiders. And OutKick communicated with multiple other coaches who said they are not concerned about Brady because they can govern what they tell him – and they don’t intend to share information that puts them at a competitive disadvantage.

Will NFL Investigate Pierce Contention?

But the intrigue doesn’t stop there.

Pierce’s contention that he and Brady talked about tidbits Brady may have picked up in production meetings is explosive if true. Because that would be a conflict of interest on its face.

And the NFL was concerned enough about the issue that it instituted the so-called Brady rules to limit the possibility of conflict of interest on the part of Brady. 

OutKick has contacted the NFL and asked if it will launch an investigation into Pierce’s allegations of Brady talking to him about “tidbits” gathered from other teams.

The NFL has yet to respond.

Pierce has opened a proverbial can of worms and the issue isn’t likely to just evaporate for him. Because unlike what he is suggesting, Brady was not allowed to attend any team practice last year. And he was not allowed to attend production meetings with club personnel, either.

Brady Rules Suggest Pierce Is Mistaken

Brady had to abide by a set of guidelines meant to protect both him and clubs from the possibility the Raiders got an advantage. Those guidelines, by the way, were loosened somewhat this year in that Brady can now log in to production meetings virtually.

So how did Pierce and Brady have “those conversations,” as the former coach said, if Brady didn’t gather any info from the teams at practices or in production meetings?

And is Pierce saying this because he was fired after only one year and although he continues to be paid under by the Raiders, might have a grudge against the team?

That’s not how Pierce portrayed himself during the interview with host Adam Schein. He portrayed himself as a truth-teller.

Pierce Calls ‘B.S.’ On Teams Not Worrying

“I think everybody’s going to give you the political answer and say, ‘Oh, it’s no big deal,’” Pierce said. “I’m calling B.S. on that because if me and you was to call the game, they’ll be secretive with us. 

“Now you got a guy who’s a minority owner, a great player, you know he understands the game, you know he sees the game. He has obviously an interest in the Raiders. So I just think it’s unprecedented. We haven’t seen it. 

“Again, I don’t want to talk above my means. I don’t know what the NFL has set for Tom Brady and his rules, but I know he was a great asset for us with the Raiders when I was there. And I think he’ll still be a great asset as he’s going forward, and I think this does help him and the Raiders.”