The most accomplished NFL player of all time suddenly finds himself in the position of a heavily scrutinized rookie.
Sunday in Cleveland, seven-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback Tom Brady made his broadcasting debut on Fox.
If, for whatever reason, you wanted to see the most successful quarterback in history fall flat on his face, you did not get your wish, but you did get to see at least one awkward moment, which showed that Brady’s chemistry with his new colleagues in the broadcasting booth remains a work in progress.
As Fox’s new lead analyst, Brady paired with Kevin Burkhardt to call the network’s game of the week.
Near the beginning of the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns, Fox’s camera showed Brady and Burkhardt standing next to one another in the booth. Mike Pereira, longtime football rules analyst for the network, stood a few feet to Brady’s right.
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Pereira, former Vice President of NFL Officiating, missed the 2023 season due to back surgery, per NBC.
Thus, at the beginning of an 11-second clip posted to the social media platform X, Burkhardt welcomed Pereira back to the booth.
“Look, it’s Mike Pereira! Hi Mike. It’s good to have you back,” Burkhardt said.
That prompted Brady to hold out his clenched right fist and attempt a fist bump with Pereira. But the rules analyst seemed to forget that he had his microphone silenced. So he did not notice the former quarterback’s gesture.
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“Oh, don’t leave me hanging! There we go,” Brady said as Pereira finally returned the well-meaning yet awkward fist bump.
Of course, everything Brady does in his new role will expose him to scrutiny, at least for a while. Thus, as of Monday morning, the clip had over 700,000 views on X.
Mike Pereira and Tom Brady’s first booth interaction could have gone a little smoother… pic.twitter.com/RmJYFF1qQj
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 8, 2024
Brady’s exchange with Pereira hardly qualified as a career-defining moment. In fact, in some ways it had an endearing quality: a legendary quarterback switching careers and making an honest effort at collegiality but literally struggling to connect.
On the other hand, insignificant as it was, the failed fist bump also reminded us of the obstacles Brady faces.
In 23 NFL seasons, Brady won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Along the way, he developed a reputation for otherworldly work ethic and preparation.
When addressing the media, however, he seldom revealed much of anything. Perhaps for strategic reasons, he often spoke in platitudes. Sometimes — again, probably by design — it sounded insincere.
That will have to change if he hopes to succeed as an NFL analyst.
In that role, he must connect with fans by helping them see the game through his eyes. And that will require putting aside any relationships he might have to current players, coaches and other league officials.
For instance, on the field Sunday, the Cowboys throttled the Browns, 33-17, in a game nowhere near as close as the final score.
Fans might want to hear, for instance, why the two teams combined for a wretched 22 penalties.
Likewise, Browns fans might want to know why quarterback DeShaun Watson — who, according to the sports salary tracker Spotrac, will count an astonishing $72,935,000 against the team’s salary cap in 2025 and 2026 — currently looks like one of the league’s five worst quarterbacks.
Play in general, and quarterback play in particular, looked uninspiring across the board in Week 1. In fact, many fans probably suspect — and suspect rightly — that Brady himself could come out of retirement and instantly upgrade the quality of quarterback play for at least two-thirds of the NFL’s teams.
Brady, of course, cannot say that exactly. He does not need to say it. But he does need to drop the platitudes about how excited players are and how hard they play.
Indeed, he has an incredible opportunity each week in the broadcast booth. Never before have fans had the chance to see and hear the greatest quarterback of all time explaining to them exactly what he saw on a particular play and what he might have done differently, citing 23 seasons worth of unparalleled experience.
He demanded the best from himself. Now, he must demand the same from the NFL.
When he starts to do that every week, no one will remember the fist bump.
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