Tom Brady explains why he took a year off before starting broadcasting job at FOX

Tom Brady was expected to jump right from the field to the FOX broadcasting booth last year, but instead, took a year off.

Now ahead of the 2024 season, Brady will join Kevin Burkhardt in the No. 1 booth for the NFL on FOX in his first job as a color commentator. Why did Brady take a year off?

Well, the future Pro Football Hall of Famer was a noteworthy preparer his whole career and this new venture wasn’t any different.

“For me it was the only way to do it,” Brady said on the SI Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina. “I realized that to come off of playing season and then to jump right into that, it’s a whole ‘nother discipline to learn and I really wanted to take some time to watch, listen and learn and talk to people. 

“People who I really see as the greatest at what they’ve done, and everyone really opened their arms to embrace me and phone calls and there’s still more that I’m going to make before the start of the season. And I’m just very grateful for all the people that kind of shared a lot of incredible nuggets, ways to succeed, that I’ll be able to involve myself in as I go forward.”

Traina asked Brady what he’ll be good at and what he could improve going into the booth. There’s no doubt Brady can break down what he sees on the field, maybe better than anyone as a quarterback.

But it’s how he comes across is what Brady said will be the delicate balance.

“I think the analysis of what I’m actually seeing will be relatively straightforward for me,” Brady said. “It’s kind of what I’ve done every day. I think the preparation is something that I really enjoy. (But), I think the important part for me would be how do I just continue to make it fun for people to enjoy the viewing experience? Sometimes I get a little too serious because I’m very, 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 that I have the right tone. And you know, I was tough on my teammates. I was tough on Wes (Welker) and Julian (Edelman) and I was tough on the running backs, on the line and I was fiery and competitive. I’m very specific of how I think the game should be played and I want to see the game evolve and grow.”