NFL
When Tom Brady makes his highly anticipated broadcast debut this fall, he doesn’t want to bring his quarterback mentality to the Fox Sports booth.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner — who will become Fox’s lead NFL analyst and work alongside Kevin Burkhart on the network’s big games through the 2024 season — recently revealed that he is working to correct his overly critical and aggressive behavior, many of which he displayed repeatedly throughout his 23-year career.
“I think the analysis of what I’m actually seeing is going to be relatively easy for me,” Brady said. The latest episode of the “SI Media With Jimmy Traina” podcast. “It’s something I do every day. I think the show is something I enjoy the most. The important part for me is how I continue to make sure people enjoy their viewing experience.”
“Sometimes I get a little too serious because I see myself as the Tom Brady quarterback, as opposed to, let’s have a great game of football, Tom Brady.” Sometimes I can come off a little too critical so I’m trying to make sure I have the right tone. I was mean to my teammates… I was fiery and competitive. I want to make sure that doesn’t happen – I’m very clear about how I think the game should be played. And I want to see the game evolve and grow.
“I think there’s a lot of expectation about how the game is going to be played… There’s a certain level of expectation that I see for people who perform really well and I want to see those guys do well. One of your contributions is, how can you help other people succeed? How can I roleplay to see other people achieve their goals and cross the finish line? So in the game, what wisdom can I give that people, coaches, ref fans can take from what I’ve learned to say hi and say, “This might help.”
Brady, whose No. 12 jersey was retired by the Patriots on Wednesday, agreed to a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox Sports through 2022.
The 46-year-old, who replaced retired NFL tight end Greg Olsen, won a Sports Emmy last season for his work as Fox’s top NFL analyst.
Although Brady said his decision to join Fox Sports was a “no brainer,” he explained that taking a year off was beneficial because he had time to draft and talk to people in the business about how to prepare. For the first time in broadcasting.
“For me it was the only way to do it [take a year off]” Brady said. “I realized that coming off a playoff season and jumping into it is a whole lot of learning. And I really wanted to set aside some time to see people, to listen, to talk, to people that I consider great at what they’ve done.
“Everyone has really opened their arms to welcome me and give me a phone call and I still have a lot to do before the season starts. And I’m just so grateful to the people who have shared so many incredible highlights, paths to success, that I can engage myself in going forward.
How to handle feedback and criticism?
“I think it’s a great class and I think 28 years of college and pro sports has helped me develop a lot of skin,” Brady said. “There’s no scoreboard in this. … There’s a lot of people I’ve talked to who are like, ‘I love Tony Romo’ … ‘I can’t stand Cris Collinsworth, and then somebody says, ‘I love you.’ [him].
“… and just, ‘Guys, everybody has their own preferences for what they like and you’re not going to please everybody. I think all of us in this role, really, are like, ‘Am I satisfied with the person I’m looking at in the mirror? Am I prepared hard? Have I put my best foot forward? Am I giving my best to the team I work for? Did I go out and give the audience my best?’ And if I do that, I’m good.
“You may not like it, I understand, that’s okay, but I’m just giving you my opinion, my analysis. So it’s actually at the end, it’s like I played a quarter back. To satisfy me.”
Brady’s first game in the booth for Fox Sports’ NFL coverage is the Week 1 clash between the Browns and Cowboys in Cleveland on Sept. 8.
Click more…
{{#is display}}
{{/isDisplay}}{{#isAniviewVideo}}
{{/isAniviewVideo}}{{#isSRVideo}}
{{/isSRVideo}}