It’s not uncommon for athletes to go into broadcasting after their playing days are over. We’ve seen it in probably every sport from people like Tony Romo, Shaquille O’Neal, Daniel Cormier and Tara Lipinski, to name a few. However, just because you’re good on the field (or court, octagon, ice, etc.) doesn’t mean that skill will translate to being an analyst, and apparently, Tom Brady’s mom gave him the same feedback as everybody else regarding his post-retirement gig with Fox Sports.
It all makes sense on paper — who better to analyze a sport than someone who’s dedicated a significant portion of their life to it? However, if you can’t communicate that expertise clearly and in a compelling manner, your commentating career probably isn’t going too far. Tom Brady weathered quite a bit of criticism in his rookie year as a broadcaster, but this season, the general consensus is that he’s really settled into the job. It sounds like someone pretty close to him agrees, as Brady told Fox News Digital:
You know, my mom said that too. You know, it’s been enjoyable just getting more comfortable. Like all of us, you start a job and you kind of don’t know what you don’t know and your first year, there’s a lot of learning. And look, this year there’s been a lot of learning for me too. Just constantly tinkering with my prep.
Tom Brady may be widely considered the GOAT of NFL quarterbacks, but there was an obvious adjustment period when he transitioned from being “the man in the arena” to “the ex-player in the booth.” There was a bit of mystery about him, as fellow QB-turned-analyst Terry Bradshaw pointed out, because nobody had any idea about Brady’s personality as a commentator.
It probably didn’t help that there were specific rules in place for Tom Brady because of his partial ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders, which resulted in fans questioning if he violated his restrictions every time he disagreed with a ref’s call.
Leave it to Shaq, though, because he totally called it, saying that the former New England Patriot would find his voice in his second or third season in the booth. They don’t call him The Big Aristotle for nothing!
- Eli Manning pranked Peyton with a ruthlessly brutal gift.
- Travis Kelce says it’s “obviously fucked up” the Chiefs missed the playoffs.
- Danny DeVito reacts live to kicker’s whiffed field goal attempt.
- I tried watching Thursday Night Football’s Prime Vision and had to turn it off.
- Acting in State Farm commercials helped Patrick Mahomes with trick play.
Shaquille O’Neal also had some advice for Tom Brady, telling him to lean on his experiences as a player, be himself and tell stories. Maybe those sage words made their way back to Brady. Either way, he now has a pretty good thing going with Kevin Burkhardt as the No. 1 announcing team for Fox’s NFL games. Brady seems to be having a blast, too, as he shouted out his booth partner as well as Tom Rinaldi, Erin Andrews, the directors, producers, cameramen and everyone else behind the scenes.
He said he loves his team and has the best bosses, and you have to imagine that kind of selfless attitude is another thing Tom Brady’s mom can be proud of.
You can catch the seven-time Super Bowl champ this weekend, as he and Kevin Burkhardt cover the NFC Divisional Playoff game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, kicking off at 8 p.m. Saturday, January 17, on Fox.