"This is Tom freaking Brady" - NFL analyst explains why he's not surprised by $375m Tom Brady Fox deal
Chris Simms gave Tom Brady his 'flowers' so to speak, in explaining why the 45-year-old quarterback got the largest contract in broadcasting. The legend has won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, a seventh with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is back hunting number eight.
On the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast, Simms said he is no longer shocked at the contract, despite Brady never having called an NFL game in his life.
Simms, of course, has transitioned into a broadcasting role after his NCAA/NFL playing career himself, following in the footsteps of his legendary father Phil Simms.
#HookEm stat of the day: Chris Simms ranked first in the Big 12 in TD’s responsible for in 2001 (28), ahead of Nebraska’s Eric Crouch (26), and Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury (25). https://t.co/Foma6iqVif
The former third-round NFL Draft pick was initially shocked by it, but eventually remembered that this was one of the sports world's most significant figures on the planet:
“Oh, it was my first thought like shock ‘Wow. Oh my gosh, unbelievable.’ I honestly thought it was cool in a lot of ways... I know people look at this and go whoa, this is an unreal contract and it is but this is Tom freaking Brady."
He went on to say:
"There's only one. He's only he's gone to another stratosphere. He's not. I love Troy Aikman and Tony Romo and Chris Crawford."
Simms continued:
"We're having a game in Germany this year. Who we bringing over there? Oh, that's right, Tom Brady. He's where he's gonna go there to kick that off. He's the most global name in the sport."
Simms concluded, putting the legendary quarterback among a very specific pantheon of athletes:
"He's gone officially the last two years into what I would say as the Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan. Like for sure that those four guys are being the number one icons in American sports history."
The greatest Super Bowl achievement ever was Tom Brady at 43 leading the 7-9 Bucs to a Lombardi on a torn MCL in his 1st yr in Tampa in a pandemic in spite of Bruce Arians criticizing him publicly and trying to impose his will and ego on game plans.
Tom Brady still has time in the NFL before becoming an analyst
Before Brady hits the booth and puts the headset on, the Buccaneers' superstar will be throwing passes at the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Russell Gage in 2022.
Tampa Bay finished the 2021 season with a 13-4 record before losing to future Super Bowl champions the Los Angeles Rams in a spectacular 30-27 divisional round matchup. Given how close they came to pulling off an outrageous comeback, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2022. The Buccaneers will be one of the teams to watch out for when the season kicks off.