Even though Tom Brady’s performance in the Fox Sports booth won’t show up on the scoreboard during Sunday’s Super Bowl, he’s trying to take the same approach he did in his 10 previous Super Bowl appearances as a player.
Brady spoke about his transition to broadcasting and other topics on Wednesday during a conference call before Sunday’s game in New Orleans between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
This was the first time Brady had spoken to the media in this setting. He’s appeared frequently on Colin Cowherd’s show on FS1 during the season.
“There’s no scoreboard for us. Did we feel we approached the game the right way, and were we prepared? It comes down to two things: Was I confident in what I said, and did I enjoy myself? If the answer is yes, then we did a good job,” Brady said. “I’m very excited for what’s ahead.”
Brady has received as much attention as an analyst as he did throughout his 23 seasons as quarterback for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won seven Super Bowls.
While most people think his first year as a broadcaster hasn’t been as strong as Tony Romo’s debut with CBS in 2017, Brady hasn’t struggled as much as other former players and coaches who have tried broadcasting.
Kevin Burkhardt, who’s calling his second Super Bowl, said he’s noticed Brady’s comfort level grow as the season has gone on.
“I think there’s a reason that not everybody dives into this end of the pool because it’s hard to be on TV for 3 1/2 hours every week and not have an edit button and go back and hit the delete button,” Burkhardt said.
“The goal was for us as a team to improve and get better throughout the year. With anyone new, it takes time to build chemistry, whether they’re a TV veteran or not. It just takes time on task. I’m proud of where we are.”
Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox in May 2022 while still playing for Tampa Bay. He retired after that season and decided in February 2023 to take a year off before moving into broadcasting.
Burkhardt and Brady had plenty of practice during the season, but most of it took place on the Fox Sports lot in Los Angeles and wasn’t seen by millions. Brady knew the learning curve would be tough but was ready for the challenge.
“To use your voice and vision for a live television audience, there’s a lot of adrenaline in that, but it was very different from when I played. I would see all these things, but I didn’t have to say them,” Brady explained.
“I knew subconsciously what to do, and my body just took over because that’s how I trained it. When you embrace uncertainty, you work as hard as you can to prepare yourself, knowing you’ll want to redo some things. I’ve enjoyed the learning curve.
“I love the chance to take the viewer inside the way I see things. It’s simple in some ways, complicated in others. I feel like our crew is hitting our stride. We know each other better every week. Hopefully, this will be our best game yet.”
Brady said he has gotten feedback from Fox Sports and has heard from Tony Romo, NBC’s Cris Collinsworth, and Amazon Prime Video’s Al Michaels.
Along with his approach as an analyst, questions have arisen about his dual roles in calling games and being a 5% limited owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The NFL has set rules preventing Brady from taking part in Fox’s production meetings with teams — either in person or via Zoom — watching practices, or stepping foot in a team’s training facility.
Fox Sports president of production and operations/executive producer Brad Zager said last month that claims of a conflict of interest between Brady’s role as a broadcaster and his position with the Raiders are unfounded.
Brady will be allowed to attend production meetings with players and coaches from the Chiefs and Eagles this week, but he won’t be able to watch practices.
Brady said not attending production meetings hasn’t impacted his preparation for games, though there are some things he misses out on.
“I think the best part (of production meetings) is that genuine relationships are built over time, and it’s a shared experience with people on your own crew during calls and discussions,” he said.
“For research, I listen to press conferences all week. To me, there’s no difference in a media member asking a question in a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday press conference than if I or the crew asked it.”
Brady didn’t directly say how much of a role he played in the Raiders’ hiring of head coach Pete Carroll, general manager John Spytek, and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Owner Mark Davis recently said Brady helped lead a committee that brought Carroll and Spytek to the Raiders.
“I’m there to support the team, the leadership, and the overall vision for success,” Brady said. “This approach as a broadcaster has been all-encompassing this year. Mark Davis is the owner of the Raiders, and I play a supportive, complementary role to the vision he sets. That will unfold in its own time.”
While Brady’s Patriots fell short of achieving three straight Super Bowls, he said he would be happy to see Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs become the first team in Super Bowl history to achieve that feat.
It would also be Mahomes’ fourth championship, bringing him closer to Brady’s title record, which many thought would never be surpassed when he retired.
“I love seeing others achieve great things, and for anyone to take away from what Patrick is doing, I don’t believe that takes away from what I accomplished in my career,” Brady said.
“The reality is we all have our journeys. Comparisons are fun for the media because they offer a different perspective and context that people can write and talk about. But as a competitor, I never saw it that way, and I still don’t today, even in the role I’m in now.”
