Tom Brady will be making his much-anticipated debut in the broadcasting booth this NFL season, starting with the Dallas Cowboys vs. Cleveland Browns on Fox in Week 1.
This week, Brady spoke about the expectations for his broadcasting career after his peers have commented about how the legendary quarterback will fare in the booth.
Tom Brady Opens Up About Transition to Broadcasting
Brady has been around football his entire life. He was in the NFL alone for over 20 years, so he knows what he’s talking about and will bring that knowledge to the booth.
However, even with his experience, the broadcasting booth is a different animal, and Brady knows what’s coming.
"Did I give the fans everything that they tuned in for? That's really how I'll end up gaging myself."
— @TomBrady discusses joining the @NFLonFOX booth pic.twitter.com/4bFCnntpUE
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 27, 2024
“Did I give the fans everything that they tuned in for? That’s really how I’ll end up gauging myself,” said Brady on “The Herd.” “There’s other parts where I feel like I’ve matured a little bit, and I don’t necessarily have to be absolutely competitive at everything. It’s a little more selective.”
“With [being] a broadcaster, I don’t think for me it’s about competition. I think it, for me, it’s about did I put everything I could into it?” Brady added. “I’ll have to look at myself at the end of every Sunday night going, ‘Did I do a good enough job? Did I live up to the belief that Fox had in me? Did I live up to the expectations of my teammates?'”
Fellow Broadcasters Think Brady Will Thrive
Brady’s fellow broadcasters have high expectations for him. This includes Erin Andrews and Kevin Burkhardt, who will both be alongside Brady on his weekly Fox broadcasts.
“I’ve sat with him at lunch before, and he’s been telling stories about his career,” said Andrews on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” “And it’s stuff we just die for. Love the inside information. And you are just hearing stuff that you’ve just always wanted to know.”
“His resume supports that he is great at everything he does,” said Charissa Thompson, who is Andrews’ podcast co-host and a Thursday Night Football host. “So why would this be any different?”
“Everybody’s worried about the commentating. I’m just like, ‘The guy’s skin, I have to deal with this, him being on my crew.’ I know because we talk about it a lot on our podcast,” said Andrews.
“It’s been cool,” said Burkhardt on the NFL’s schedule release show. “There’s been moments where he just says something, and you’re just like, ‘Oh my gosh, that is so cool,’ and I’m nerding out. And for him, it’s kind of commonplace.”
“I think there’s going to be a lot of those moments because we’ve never really heard him talk about that stuff,” Burkhardt added. “I think there’s going to be a lot of firsts for him where people are like ‘wow.'”
KEEP READING: Predicting Tom Brady’s Fox Broadcast Schedule for 2024
While Andrews and Burkhardt spoke glowingly of Brady’s potential, James White, Brady’s former teammate in New England, offered some perspective on what the biggest adjustment will be for Brady in the booth.
“You gotta be real as well,” said White on MassLive’s Eye on Foxborough podcast. “You can’t sugarcoat it.”
“It’s definitely hard to be critical of them just because you’ve obviously been on the other side of things, sharing the same locker room or sharing the same building with them,” added White. “So I’d say just be cautious when it comes to that, just knowing how you would feel if somebody you know was speaking about you.”