Tom Brady is going to take a gap year before eventually making his debut in the broadcast booth at FOX.
Brady, who last week announced he was retiring, is the heir apparent to the number one play-by-play analyst’s seat next to Kevin Burkhardt.
MMQB senior NFL reporter and lead content strategist Albert Breer told Dan Patrick on Tuesday that he just doesn’t envision Brady getting behind the microphone.
“I hate to say it’s beneath him, but doesn’t it sort of feel like, can you guys see him standing in the buffet line with the rest of us at halftime?” Breer said. “It was never hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of Tony Romo doing that. It’s not even hard to wrap your head around the idea of Troy (Aikman) doing that. It’s kind of hard to wrap your head around the idea of Tom Brady standing in that line waiting for a hot dog.”
Breer thought Brady becoming an NFL owner in the future was more Brady’s avenue. He said he thought ownership would help Brady keep that competitive flame burning. He mentioned that Brady coming back for the 2022 season was an example of the seven-time Super Bowl champion just wanting to scratch that competitive itch. Brady in a broadcast booth probably doesn’t do it for him.
“I don’t think it was ever searching for a fairytale ending or getting back at people in New England,” Breer said. “I think for him it was like an addiction almost to competition. And I do think like going and being part of an ownership group and getting into team building might satisfy that to a degree. Would television satisfy that?”
Patrick said he thought Brady having to be openly critical of players or situations throughout the course of a broadcast wasn’t something he’d be up for.
“Tom spent his entire life not criticizing or saying anything. And now you’re gonna say, ‘Tom be yourself. Go out there and critique. Be honest,'” Patrick said. “I just don’t see him wanting to do that.”
“Is he compromised?” Breer asked. “Like where he can criticize this person but he can’t criticize that person. That can be really, really tricky.”
