Tom Brady opens up about his biggest obstacle upon joining Fox
Tom Brady will embark on the next chapter of his career when he heads to the Fox Sports broadcast booth this fall.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion took a year off after retiring from the NFL before beginning his broadcast career. In an interview with Jimmy Traina that was released on the SI MEDIA podcast on Thursday, Brady opened up about his new role and what his biggest challenge would be.
He said that his tone when he gives his opinion on the game is something he is working on. He told Traina that sometimes he still evaluates the game as a quarterback and it may not keep viewers engaged if he is too critical.
He said:
“The important part for me would be, how do I continue to make it fun for people to enjoy the viewing experience. Sometimes I get a little too serious because I see myself as ‘quarterback Tom Brady’ as opposed to ‘let’s enjoy a great game of football Tom Brady.’ Sometimes I become a little too critical. So I’m trying to make sure I have the right tone. I’m very specific of how I think the game should be played. I want to see the game evolve and grow."
Brady then went on to say that he has a specific notion of how the game should be played, which comes from over two decades of experience in the league.
Tom Brady revealed why he took a year off before starting at FOX
In the same interview, Brady also spoke about the decision to wait a year before beginning his broadcast career. He signed a massive ten-year contract with the network worth $375 million back in May 2022—with the intent that he would begin when he eventually retired.
Brady announced his retirement from the NFL, for the second time, in March 2023 and then took a year off. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback told Traina it was the only way he believed he would be successful in broadcasting. He took time to learn his new role and spoke with others in the business to gain more knowledge.
"For me, it was the only way to do it. I realized that to come off of playing season and then to jump right into that, it’s a whole other discipline to learn and I really wanted to take some time to watch, listen and learn and talk to people," said Brady.
Brady will now join the lead broadcast team at Fox, alongside Kevin Burkhardt and sideline reporter Erin Andrews. His first game will be a matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, September 8.