As Tom Brady gets ready to commentate on Sunday’s big game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, his employer is giving him positive feedback for his performance during the first six weeks of the 2024 NFL season.
According to Richard Deitsch from The Athletic, Fox Sports is “pleased with” how Brady has been working with play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt as the top broadcasting team for the network’s NFL coverage.
When the season began, there was a lot of focus on how Brady would do as a TV analyst. In May 2022, he signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox while he was still playing, which would start after his retirement.
Even though he retired after the 2022 season, Brady chose to wait a year before starting his broadcasting career to have more time to learn the details of working in television.
Brady’s first game in Week 1, where he covered the Dallas Cowboys vs. Cleveland Browns, received mixed reviews. Many people felt he seemed uncertain about what to say or relied on clichés in his comments.
However, his performance improved in the following week when he covered the Cowboys’ home game against the New Orleans Saints.
Fox made it easier for Brady by having him commentate on the Cowboys for his first three games. Sunday will be the second time he has worked on a 49ers game, following a Week 5 match against the Arizona Cardinals.
It will be interesting to see if Brady changes his approach to calling games now that he has been approved as a limited partner with the Raiders. Being part of an NFL team’s ownership means he will have limited access to information from other teams and cannot publicly criticize officials.
Deitsch pointed out that Brady has been following these guidelines all season because his deal with the Raiders has been in progress for a while. Now, some producers are concerned that he might say something critical about another team or officials, or might avoid obvious analysis.
The reality is that most people will only pay attention to the announcer if they are distracting from the game. So far, Brady hasn’t done that, and there are no signs that he will.
Fox will air the Super Bowl rematch between the Chiefs and 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.
