“I was just hoping he could get through sentences. It was a rough debut to say the least,” sportswriter and noted NFL insider Bill Simmons had said about Tom Brady’s broadcasting debut back in September. Unfortunately, the trend hasn’t really improved over the last three months—the latest instance of which prompted fans to jump to social media with their pointed comments…

The recent incident happened during the Week 17 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, when Brady was on call with play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. However, as the 47-year-old presided with an overview of the Packers, his monologue seemed a bit amiss, as he failed to recall a critical context. “They’ve got four losses this year, Green Bay does. Two of them to the Lions, they’re a good team. The Eagles, they lost to them, they’re a good team. And they lost to the, uh…who’d they lose to the other one? Anyway…” Brady failed to recall whom the Packers lost against. Well, that team was the Vikings only, and this game was played on September 29.

Now, it’s true that even legends make mistakes. But here the perception is a whole different game. People are watching Tom Brady closely, questioning if his ownership duties are stealing time from his prep work in the booth. And then it happens – a slip, a moment where he forgets something basic about the game.

Notably, this is not even the first time the veteran has made such mistakes….During the December 15 clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers (which the latter lost 27-13), Brady had referred to the current Eagles kicker Jake Elliott, as “Akers”. “… with the way that Akers is struggling with it this year… Excuse me, Jake Elliott,” he had said. Well, David Akers has not played for the Eagles since 2010. He had joined the 49ers in 2011, and then went on to play for the Detroit Lions in 2013—the player, now 50, retired in 2017. Elliott, on the other hand, has been an Eagle since 2017.

And then there were the mounting complaints from fans that the player-turned-broadcaster seemed “nervous”. And not just fans, even noted community insiders added their take to the matter—all of which certainly wouldn’t go down well for Brady.

The Athletic’s media reporter Richard Deitsch, while pointing out multiple positive about the former QB’s broadcasting style, wrote on September 14, “Brady is still coming to the replays a little late, he seems reticent to criticize coaches, and we still don’t get second-level analysis, which for my definition is teaching me something new about the game that I didn’t see if I was following the ball. For me, that’s the separator between being a good NFL analyst and a great one.”

The final nail in the coffin? ESPN senior writer Don Van Natta Jr’s pointed critique on X on September 22, “Tom Brady’s problem— and ours— is his voice. No matter how much his commentary might improve, Brady’s delivery system teeters between mildly annoying to nails-on-a-chalkboard. It doesn’t help he’s paired with Kevin Burkhardt, whose magisterial voice is made for a microphone.” 

Top Comment by Yetta123

There are NO CALLS THAT MATTER FOR OLSEN… ..see Olsen is broadcasting but is anyone watching him ? No ?...more

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Debate

Having said that, it certainly doesn’t help that Tom Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox Sports replacing the network’s lead analyst Greg Olsen, and people expect him to deliver. But given the latest slip-ups, fans can’t help but ask for Olsen back to his place…

Tom Brady is called ‘bad?’

We agree it’s not easy to do LIVE commentary for a game and that too with very little experience. However, NFL fans seem to be done with Tom Brady. For instance, one X user said, “Tom Brady is so bad man, we need Greg Olsen back.” No doubt, Olsen is a great color commentator, as he easily transitioned from the field to the broadcast booth in 2021. But as Brady got the chance in place of him, it was obvious for fans to compare his work with Olsen.

But if you ask Olsen, who’s even earned a Sports Emmy for Top Event Analyst in 2023 and for Outstanding Emerging On-Air Talent in 2022, he’s never had much of a problem getting replaced. “I want him to do well. I want him to succeed. I want him to feel I’m a good teammate. It’s no different than if he came into the locker room when I was a player and we happened to play the same position.”

“My success is not contingent upon Tom…Tom being really good doesn’t make me less good, and Tom being bad doesn’t make me better. Fox has two top teams, and that’s how I view it. But I’ve talked to Joe about this: I want people to think that Joe and I are the best crew on television. It doesn’t matter that we’re the ‘B’ crew.”

Besides that comment, even some others chimed in with similar thoughts, such as, “Greg Olsen > Tom Brady” or “Greg Olsen is so much better in the booth than Tom Brady!! Not even close!” Brady’s continuous mistakes and way of commenting have been the center of debate for NFL fans.

Making this more evident, a fan tried to clear his point with a proper differentiation as per his perspective. That fan wrote, “Greg Olsen > Tom Brady. Greg is less monotone and has better timing. Rings be dammed.” But that’s not all! Even Tom Brady’s fans have a similar stance on Brady’s calling in Packers vs Vikings.

For example, one die-hard fan of Brady chose Olsen this time, as he said, “Die hard, lifelong Tom Brady fan. I named my firstborn after him. He is TERRIBLE in the booth. Bring back Greg Olsen.” Ouch! That’s definitely a strong stance and hatred for Brady’s calling skills. To survive on this platform, the legend has to be more connected with his audience, rather than just giving his insights.