When Tom Brady arrived in the NFL 24 years ago, it was under a thick cloak of sixth-round anonymity. In his newest football gig, Brady shows up with the biggest amount of fanfare that any broadcaster has ever received.
It’s all about Tommy. From the moment the schedule came out and Brady got top billing over the Cowboys and Browns in Week 1. In-game promos during last weekend’s Penn State-West Virginia game called Brady’s debut “historic!” And Fox has done nothing but keep the bar sky high.
They’ve also kept Brady under wraps. While, as noted recently by Andrew Marchand of TheAthletic.com, Brady has done two-and-a-half live NFL practice games, he didn’t broadcast a preseason game. His first time in a booth will happen on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.
He won’t have the benefit of full preparation. His pending purchase of a piece of the Raiders will keep him, by league edict, out of team facilities, production meetings, and practices. As Marchand notes, however, Brady will be allowed to talk to colleagues who were allowed to move freely in and around the teams. He’s also permitted to talk to anyone he wants on the phone.
That makes the restrictions more form than substance, frankly. The deeper message might still be that, when it’s time to vote on Brady’s acquisition of a piece of the Raiders, at least nine of 32 will say no.
It remains to be seen what fans and media will say about Brady’s performance. He will be criticized, because only the most boring and forgettable TV personalities escape scrutiny. Will he criticize players? Coaches? Officials, even though he could be fined for that as a potential Raiders owner?
Will Brady make reference to the fact that the NFL has tried to tie one hand behind his back? (The restrictions — perhaps the most newsworthy aspect of Brady’s new career — never came up during a recent appearance on FS1’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd.)
Ultimately, will a single person who wasn’t going to watch the top Fox game of the week tune in to hear Brady? Will people who would otherwise change the channel keep watching a crappy game because of Brady? Will some people change the channel because of Brady’s involvement in the call?
However it plays out, the expectations are much higher for Brady the rookie broadcaster than it ever was for Brady the rookie quarterback.
There are only two outcomes. He will either meet expectations, or he will fail.