Tom Brady reveals the hardest part of $375 million Fox Sports broadcasting transition

NFL

By Jenna Lemoncelli

Tom Brady doesn’t want to bring his quarterback mentality to the Fox Sports booth when he makes his highly anticipated broadcasting debut this fall.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner — who will become Fox’s lead NFL analyst and work alongside Kevin Burkhardt on the network’s biggest games of the 2024 season — recently explained that he’s working to tone down his overly critical and serious demeanor, much of which was frequently displayed throughout his 23-year playing career.

“I think the analysis of what I’m actually seeing will be relatively straightforward for me,” Brady said on the latest episode of the “SI Media With Jimmy Traina” podcast. “It’s kinda what I’ve done every day. I think the preparation is something that I’ll really enjoy. The important part for me will be how do I just continue to make it fun for people to enjoy the viewing experience.

“Sometimes I get a little too serious because I see myself as quarterback Tom Brady, as opposed to let’s enjoy a great game of football, Tom Brady. Sometimes I may come off a little too critical so I’m trying to make sure I have the right tone. I was tough on my teammates… I was fiery and competitive. I want to make sure that doesn’t — I’m very specific about how I think the game should be played. And I want to see the game evolve and grow.

“I think there is a high expectation because of how I expect the game to be played … There is just a certain expectation level that I see for very great performers and I want to see these guys perform really well. Part of the contribution to make is, how can help other people be successful as well? How can I play a role in seeing other people achieve their goals and cross the finish line? So what wisdom can I impart on the game, people, coaches, refs fans that they can take from the things I’ve learned to say hey, ‘This can help me.’”

Brady, whose No. 12 jersey was retired Wednesday by the Patriots, agreed to a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox Sports in 2022.

The retired quarterback, 46, is replacing former NFL tight end Greg Olsen, who won a Sports Emmy for his work as Fox’s top NFL analyst last season.

Although Brady said his decision to join Fox Sports was a “no-brainer,” he explained it was beneficial for him to take a year off because he had time to unwind from his playing career and talk with people in the business on how to prepare for his broadcast debut.

“For me, it was the only way to do it [take a year off],” Brady said. “I realized, to come off a playing season and then to jump right into that it’s a whole other discipline to learn. And I really wanted to take some time to watch, listen, learn talk to people, people who I really see as the greatest at what they’ve done.

“Everyone really opened their arms to embrace me and phone calls and there are still more that I’m going to make before the start of the season. And I’m just very grateful for the people that kind of shared a lot of incredible nuggets, ways to succeed, that I’ll be able to involve myself in as I go forward.”

As for how he’ll handle feedback and criticism?

“I think that’s a great part and I think in a way, the 28 years of college and pro sports helped me develop a lot of thick skin,” Brady said. “There is not a scoreboard in this… There are a lot of people I talked to that said, ‘I love Tony Romo’ … ‘I can’t stand Cris Collinsworth,’ and then someone says, ‘I love [him].’

“… And it’s like, ‘Guys, everyone has their own preference for what they like and you’re never going to please everybody. I think for all of us in this role, it’s really about, ‘Am I satisfied with the person that I’m looking in the mirror? Did I prepare hard? Did I put my best foot forward? Did I give my best to the team that I work for? Did I got out and give my best to the audience?’ And if I did that I’m good.

“You may not like it I understand, it’s OK But I’m just giving you my commentating, my analysis. So it’s really in the end, it’s like I played quarterback. It’s about satisfying me.”

Brady’s first game in the booth for Fox Sports’ coverage of the NFL will be the Week 1 clash between the Browns and Cowboys in Cleveland on Sept. 8.