Does Drew Brees' NBC failure spell worry for FOX and Tom Brady?
Drew Brees seemingly had the football broadcast world at his fingertips when he retired from the New Orleans Saints following the 2020 season. He was one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and was a noted leader and great speaker. That saw him land at NBC as a studio and Notre Dame analyst.
But things did not go according to plan.
The former quarterback left his role at NBC after a year and may have ruined his best shot in the broadcasting business. He could always make a return, but he may not get a network job as big as the one he had.
This was a noted flop and proved that not every famous player can make an easy transition to the broadcast booth or studio. This is a noteworthy development considering Tom Brady signed a decade-long deal with Fox Sports that will begin once his career is over. He will earn $375 million over those ten years and is expected to be the face of the network beyond just football.
But should Fox be worried about Brady after seeing what happened to Brees?
Tom Brady cannot be compared to Drew Brees in this category
Brees and Brady are two of the most accomplished quarterbacks and overall players in NFL history. Yet only one is considered the GOAT, and that is the latter. He is such a global star that the network may not care if he gets off to a rough start in the booth.
Let's say Brady gets off to a bad start. Is that going to hurt the ratings? Not a chance, as fans will tune in to hear the legendary quarterback dissect a game. It is also important to mention that he won't be stuck on college broadcasts like Brees was.
Brady will call the network's best game of the week and its premier postseason games. He will not feel like he is wasting his talents on a game he doesn't care about.
Landing Brady would be like a network broadcasting NBA games landing Michael Jordan or LeBron James. The popularity outweighs any negative feedback that may come their way early on.
Fox won the Brady sweepstakes, while NBC gave Brees a shot to shine. Failures happen, but the current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is too big to fail. That is true on the field and should be off as well, given how successful he already is in the business and social media space.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for his counterpart, who now needs to reassess his next steps after football.