Tom Brady might be lauded as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, but his new career as a broadcaster is off to a rocky start after fans and commentators gave his first performance mixed reviews on Sunday afternoon.
Brady made his broadcasting debut for Fox Sports providing color commentary for a Week 1 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns, part of the duties expected as part of a massive $375 million contract inked last year following his retirement.
Immediately out of the gate, Brady sounded awkward and stiff while talking with his partner, Kevin Burkhart.
“We’re here, it’s been quite a journey, but I love being your partner,” Brady said to Burkhart, briefly pausing awkwardly between words.
Videos quickly began circulating of Brady’s awkward moments. “With you coming in the booth, I made sure I did my hair real nice,” Burkhart bantered at one point with his new partner. “I figured there’d be some more on-cameras over here today.”
But Brady stumbled over his words, telling Burkhart, “I do what they tell me, understand that. I’m still a rookie in here.”
In another awkward moment, Brady tried to give Mike Pereira a fist bump—who was busy reviewing something on a separate screen. “Don’t leave me hanging!” Brady complained to the network’s longtime rules analyst.
Comments on social media seemed especially vicious towards Brady, with most reviewers in one post-game Reddit thread giving the retired quarterback negative reviews.
Commenters on X, formerly Twitter, were just as mean—with some users calling him “the worst announcer in the NFL” and “absolutely atrocious, while others made fun of his stilted delivery.
“Finally, something Tom Brady f—ing sucks at,” one user wrote.
Other social media commentators on both apps mentioned outrage for Greg Olsen—Burkhart’s former partner in the booth who Brady replaced this year. Olsen, who previously called the last Super Bowl broadcast for Fox alongside Burkhart in 2022, was bumped down to the network’s number two team for coverage.
Professional reviewers, however, were a lot more sympathetic to Brady.
Chris McDaniel, a sports reporter for the Patriot Ledger, a local paper in Quincy, Massachusetts, did admit that New England’s beloved former quarterback was off to a rocky start on Sunday. He gave Brady an overall grade of C—but noted that Brady’s performance improved as the game went on.
The Associated Press called his demeanor “awkward,” while veteran sports columnist Richard Dietsch of The Athletic offered a light defense of Brady, calling him “someone attempting to learn the craft in real-time.”
Dietsch compared him to Troy Aikman and Tony Romo, two other celebrated quarterbacks who made the successful transition into broadcasting after retiring from the field.
Although Romo was more immediately successful after transitioning into his broadcasting role, Aikman took more time, learning the craft slowly in three person teams before taking the job on Monday Night Football.
Dietsch also defended Olsen, who he called a “true No. 1 right now” compared to the journeyman Brady.
