Tom Brady’s Broadcast Debut Divides Fans: “Absolutely Atrocious”

Football fans have some choice thoughts about Tom Brady‘s foray into the broadcast booth. The seven-time Super Bowl winner’s debut, made at the regular-season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns, was met with divisive opinion — with the AP calling his entry “awkward” and some on X saying it was “absolutely atrocious.”

The National Football League drummed up enthusiasm for his appearance with a promotion posted yesterday with the caption, “Time to get back to work,” alongside a curled bicep emoji.

The spot begins with Brady watching a commentator say, “Tom Brady the broadcaster? The guy’s got everything in the world — why do it?” Over the 45-second commercial, Brady rebuffs versions of himself who try to dissuade him from embarking on a new phase of his football career. However, when he’s confronted by a young Brady — who tells him: “One day, you’ll be the greatest there ever was” — Brady grows determined to get started on his commentator journey.

The new NFL analyst has not been met with open arms, but rather a tackle of sorts. One user on X admonished Fox Sports for dropping a whopping $375 million on the talent, saying the network “should have listened to Tom Brady actually say words” before doing so.

“Finally, something Tom Brady f—ing sucks at,” another said.

For his part, Brady admitted he was still a “rookie” at his new gig, and play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt joked that he committed more time to doing his hair because he knew there would be more press shots of the broadcast booth.

“I do what they tell me. I understand that,” Brady said, per the AP. “I’m still a rookie in here.”

Brady played more than 20 years in the NFL before retiring after the 2022 season as the most decorated player in league history. He then signed a decade-long contract with Fox Sports to become the network’s lead football analyst but took last year off, during which anticipation built over whether he could transfer his preexisting skills off the field.

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