The seven-time Super Bowl winner’s debut on Fox was mediocre at best as he stumbled with his lines and offered little in the way of insight
As the third quarter of the Cowboys’ dismissal of the Browns got under way on Sunday afternoon, Fox play-by-play anchor Kevin Burkhardt turned to his new on-air partner Tom Brady for guidance on what Cleveland needed to do to spark their limp offense into life. “How do they move the ball and get something going here?” Burkhardt asked, an issue on which the man widely considered the greatest quarterback of all time would, one assumes, have an original thought or two to offer the viewers at home. With a confident nod, Brady replied: “In order to move forward they need to stop from going backward.” Burkhardt laughed, but from the expression in his eyes you could tell he was crying inside. Is this what $375m buys you these days?
Brady’s TV debut was perhaps the most hotly anticipated sports broadcasting event of the year, a story the media has covered with breathless intensity in the run-up to the NFL’s kickoff weekend. The former New England Patriots legend signed a $375m deal with Fox in 2022 to become their lead Sunday football analyst for the next 10 years, and he spent much of 2023 preparing for his new role – studying the work of other analysts, consulting the wise old heads of the sport for tips on how best to manage the transition from field to commentary box, calling games live in private as practice. As if his godly playing reputation and the fortune Fox is giving him for his insights have not already raised expectations enough, Brady has also assumed the analytical position at a time when the pressure of comparison on Fox has perhaps never been greater. By stepping into the seat next to Burkhardt, Brady has displaced Greg Olsen, who drew rave reviews in the lead color role last season for his on-screen fluency, charm, and rare ability to blend narrative and data into a compelling explanatory whole.
