Tom Brady’s television debut divides fans: “Simply horrible”

Football fans have mixed views on Tom Brady's foray into the commentary booth. The seven-time Super Bowl winner's debut, which he made in the regular season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, sparked mixed opinions – the AP called his performance “embarrassing” and some on X said it was “absolutely awful.”

The National Football League fueled excitement about his appearance yesterday with an ad titled “Time to get back to work” and featuring a flexed biceps emoji.

The spot begins with Brady hearing a commentator say, “Tom Brady, the sports commentator? The guy has everything in the world – why would he do that?” In the 45-second spot, Brady rejects versions of himself who try to dissuade him from starting a new phase of his football career. However, when he is confronted by a young Brady, who tells him, “One day you're going to be the greatest there ever was,” Brady is determined to start his career as a commentator.

The new NFL analyst was not welcomed with open arms, but rather with an attack of sorts. One user on X chided Fox Sports for spending a whopping $375 million on the talent, saying the network “should have actually listened to Tom Brady” before doing so.

“Finally something Tom Brady is bad at,” said another.

Brady, for his part, admitted that he was still a “newbie” in his new job, and live commentator Kevin Burkhardt joked that he spent more time on his hair because he knew there would be more press photos from the announcer's booth.

“I do what they tell me. I understand that,” Brady said, according to AP. “I'm still a newbie 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 10-year deal with Fox Sports to become the network's lead football analyst, but took last year off amid growing excitement over whether he would be able to use his pre-existing skills off the field.

Further reactions: