Tom Brady's roast generated a lot of attention, buzz, and conversation this week. One of the most common questions I receive is one of the simplest.
Why would Brady do this?
As stated in first announcement of arrangement The Brady Roast is the first in a series that's been going on for about two years now. And Brady is the show's executive producer. (There's real money in TV, folks.)
So Brady took the lead. It remains to be seen who will go next. Really, which athlete will reach Brady's level? Tiger Woods? Michael Jordan? LeBron James?
Why would they do that?
Maybe Brady can convince them to do it. And Brady has every reason to pull it off. He and Peyton Manning are in an unspoken competition (or at least appear to be) to amass enough fortune to become the team's controlling owner.
Manning seems well-positioned to make that happen. Omaha Productions is thriving. And, frankly, the vibe with Manning is that he's going to be successful no matter what he does. (As explained in Monday's explanation, PFT Live, he was the only non-comedian who knew how to effectively deliver a joke in a roast. )
Brady, by contrast, doesn't seem to have as much success as Manning outside of the NFL. His bravery with FTX was disastrous. The TB12 and Brady brands have been merged with No Bull. Some still wonder if he will eventually break up his 10-year contract with Fox to become the NFL's No. 1 game analyst.
Brady's attempts to buy out a stake in the Raiders have been difficult. The league has not approved the deal because Raiders owner Mark Davis gave Brady a steep discount. It is still unclear whether it will become official.
Both Brady and Manning appear to want to become majority owners of NFL franchises. If both come on as team owners, it would be a major extension of their rivalry. For now, they appear to be competing with each other to build the wealth needed to buy the team.
Given the continued rise in value of NFL franchises, it's possible that neither team will ultimately be able to come up with the money needed to own a team. That being said, I'm willing to put in my own money to make sure Manning has the money he needs before Brady.
