Oct 27, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; FOX commentator Tom Brady stands on the sideline before a game between the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images Joe Nicholson
Tom Brady is one of those people who seems to be so successful that it feels like some root for him to be bad at something. Before the year, there was plenty of skepticism that the 10-year/$375 million contract that FOX signed him to would prove to be a wise investment.
Naturally, any time Brady has screwed up in his first year as the color commentator in FOX's No. 1 NFL booth, fans have been quick to point it out. Sunday was no exception, as everyone's ears perked up when Brady mistakenly referred to Eagles kicker Jake Elliott as "Akers," confusing him with former Eagles kicker David Akers:
"With the way that Akers is struggling with it this year... Excuse me, Jake Elliott."
Tom Brady earlier on the broadcast.
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Brady kind of gets a pass here in my mind, because he immediately corrected himself. And in his defense, while playing for the New England Patriots, he faced off against the Eagles in the Super Bowl twice, once when Akers was the kicker for the Eagles, and the other when Elliott was. It's not the end of the world. It's kind of funny, really.
This was the second time that Brady has called an Eagles game this season, as he was also on the call for the 33-16 loss that the Eagles had to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4. Was Greg Olsen a better color commentator alongside Kevin Burkhardt in the No. 1 booth for FOX? 100%. But if you predicted that Brady would be such a disaster as an announcer that he would be one-and-done, that doesn't seem to be the case. He's still raw, and that's one of the reasons immediately throwing him into the top booth was probably misguided. However, having listened to almost all of his games this year, Brady has definitely gotten a better feel for when to interject and how quickly he needs to make his point. That doesn't mean he's a finished product, but why would you expect him to be after calling only 15 games? His thoughts on the NFL banning hip drop tackles in the fourth quarter were interesting to hear.
It's definitely problematic that Brady is a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, and that's limited his access to teams as he prepares for games, and also prevents him from being as critical of refs as he probably should be at times. But that's another discussion for another time. I find myself interested in what Brady has to say, particularly in situations where he has strong opinions. After all, this is the most accomplished player in NFL history. No one can provide the perspective that he can.
