We’ll start with the big names:
TOM’S TIME: Former pro quarterback extraordinaire Tom Brady has joined Fox, which pushed Greg Olsen out of its No. 1 game analyst role to open the spot for Brady — and his reported $375 million salary spread across 10 years. He joins play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Burkhardt, who replaced Joe Buck on Fox’s lead NFL crew after Buck moved to ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” three seasons ago.
Brady actually made his Fox debut in St. Louis, where he had a cameo appearance in the booth for the United Football League title game June 16. He gets going for real Sept. 8 for Dallas’ contest in Cleveland.
There has been a lot of questioning if Brady can translate his success on the field, where he carved defenses, into the booth, where a great analyst likewise can carve teams and personnel in an analytical, not personal, fashion. After all, Brady never was a glib quote machine as a player.
He addressed his approach in an appearance this summer on an episode of the “SI Media With Jimmy Traina“ podcast, saying he might actually have to tone down what he is thinking.
“The important part for me would be how do I continue to make it fun for people to enjoy the viewing experience,” Brady said. “Sometimes I get a little too serious because I see myself as ‘quarterback Tom Brady’ as opposed to ‘let’s enjoy a great game of football Tom Brady.’ Sometimes I become a little too critical. So I’m trying to make sure I have the right tone. I’m very specific of how I think the game should be played. I want to see the game evolve and grow.”