While the 10-year, $375 million deal<\/a> ended up being the most lucrative for a sports media personality in history, everyone in that initial meeting had to be convinced Brady actually wanted to do it.<\/p>\n\u201cTo do this job right, you are going to have to want to talk, and you are going to want to talk about football,\u201d Zager told Brady.<\/p>\n
After winning seven Super Bowls, there is nothing that Tom Brady loves more than talking football. And it shows, especially at the end of his second season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Tom Brady, the broadcaster,\u201d Zager said. \u201cI think in Year 1, you were seeing Tom Brady, the Hall of Famer, the greatest quarterback of all time, getting comfortable broadcasting. Now, you are seeing Tom Brady, with all the accolades still, but as a broadcaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
The story of how Brady went from TMI to the \u201cTB12\u201d method as a broadcaster in Year 2 has the same teamwork principles as his Patriots dynasty years.<\/p>\n
This time, his broadcast partner, Kevin Burkhardt, his producer, Richie Zyontz, his director, Rich Russo, and the rest of the Fox crew are playing the weekly roles of his old mates, Bill Belichick, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s kind of like a team \u2014 it\u2019s 100 percent a team,\u201d Brady said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s 100 percent an orchestra. There\u2019s a conductor of the orchestra, which is our producer, and we\u2019re all playing our part. We\u2019ve got so many other people working in coordination. And if you\u2019re out of rhythm, the broadcast will feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Year 1, Brady relied on his teammates to set the tone. In Year 2 \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cTom\u2019s the quarterback,\u201d Burkhardt said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to be a good teammate and get open on third down for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the biggest reasons a network signs Tom Brady is for the spectacle. The NFL is by far the most watched and most valuable form of entertainment in the United States and maybe the entire world.<\/p>\n
More than 80 percent of the top rated shows in 2025 were NFL games, led by the Super Bowl with those 127.7 million viewers. Even then, Brady in the booth is like nothing that has ever happened previously in sports TV, both for his legendary status and unprecedented paycheck.<\/p>\n
While almost all modern day all-time quarterbacks go into TV post-playing, Brady enters each stadium with every eye on him that is at a different level than Aikman or Romo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s freaking insane,\u201d Burkhardt said. \u201cYou are walking around with one of the most recognizable, if not the most recognizable, people on earth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like walking in every week with the Beatles.\u201d<\/p>\n
During Burkhardt and Brady\u2019s first NFL live practice game between the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys in August 2024, the Cowboys\u2019 Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs stopped warming up to take off their helmets for a picture with Brady.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a little different,\u201d Burkhardt said.<\/p>\n
During halftime of games, Brady needs security to go to the bathroom. While Brady is very amenable to everyone who approaches for a selfie or an autograph, Burkhardt said, if not for the assistance, Brady would not make it back for the second half because he would be stopped so much.<\/p>\n
Before becoming partners, Burkhardt and Brady did not really know each other. Brady once said something nice in passing, wishing Burkhardt success when Burkhardt landed at Fox and called a Patriots game. That was it.<\/p>\n
After retiring from playing and with his Fox mega-deal signed, Brady took a gap year during the 2022-23 season. In November 2023, Fox brought him in for his first day of training on the network\u2019s Century City lot in Los Angeles. Shanks and Zager explained the business to him and took him for lunch before Burkhardt showed up in the afternoon as if it were a blind date.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like Chuck Woolery,\u201d Burkhardt said, referencing the old TV dating show, \u201cLove Connection.\u201d \u201cWhat do you want to know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brady put on a television headset for the first time next to Burkhardt that day and the duo has not looked back.<\/p>\n
![\"Kevin](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_1155-scaled.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady found easy chemistry as early as their first practice session together. (Brad Zager \/ Fox Sports)<\/p>\n
While the man Burkhardt succeeded, Buck, has probably taken over Al Michaels\u2019 title as the best current NFL play-by-play announcer in the game, Burkhardt has been the perfect partner for Brady because Burkhardt\u2019s unselfish style has given Brady an easy runway after plays to shine.<\/p>\n
They both value their friendship, golfing last offseason with Brady asking Burkhardt, \u201cWhat do you think the broadcast should be?\u201d<\/p>\n
Burkhardt\u2019s answer was that it should feel like people are just sitting with them, enjoying the game. It does this season, in part because it is so apparent that they both love being there together.<\/p>\n
They are kindred spirits, and Brady, who looked up to the likes of former Patriots such as Rodney Harrison and Troy Brown, and has seven Super Bowl rings with a variety of teammates, gave Burkhardt the highest of compliments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Kevin,\u201d Brady said. \u201cHe\u2019s like \u2018a brother from another mother.\u2019 We have a bond for life. He\u2019s a world-class person. He is one of the most genuine, thoughtful, caring people I\u2019ve ever been around.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only that, he is so talented in what he does. He\u2019s so embracing of everybody around him. It\u2019s an amazing quality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI value Kevin as much as anybody I\u2019ve ever worked with.\u201d<\/p>\n
The duo look at each other during broadcasts all the time and have little inside jokes that they are not even sure the audience gets. They say, \u201cWow,\u201d a lot, which may not be taught at broadcasting schools but is similar to what fans on their couches are saying after big plays.<\/p>\n
During Brady\u2019s rookie year, as he became more comfortable, he had the telestrator moved from the outside of the booth to between them so he was talking to Burkhardt and not turning his back on him to draw.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt allowed us to have a conversational tone,\u201d Burkhardt said.<\/p>\n
When Fox approached Brady about broadcasting, Brady wasn\u2019t sure. He didn\u2019t really know what was next and, in fact, after the meeting with Shanks and Zager, Brady un-retired to play another season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/p>\n
For Brady, there would always be post-retirement options, and there have been. He is a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and currently is involved in their coaching search, as part of a larger role in their front office, which he balances between his Fox duties.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy preparation is very much centered around what I have to do in broadcasting,\u201d Brady said of his management role. \u201cI love, obviously, having a chance to be involved with the Raiders. To be a former player and have a minority ownership is like a dream come true.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t afford to pay to be a general partner. I did very well in my career. It\u2019s awesome to kind of help shape and strategize and be a visionary for a team. I love being involved in football.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is what you will hear on Sunday as Fox has its final NFL broadcast of the season when the Los Angeles Rams face the Seattle Seahawks for the chance to go to the Super Bowl, stakes that Brady is more familiar with than anyone in the world. The TV crew will arrive in Seattle on Saturday and Brady will have a game plan ready for the full Fox team.<\/p>\n
He has cut down on reading everything and instead scouts each team as if he may strap on a helmet Sunday. On Saturday night at the network\u2019s hotel, Brady will lead a session with the entire crew, in which he will explain what he thinks will happen and why.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not into generic thoughts,\u201d Brady said. \u201cThere is a nuance to every game. There is a strategy matchup to every game. I try to determine how I think the games are going to go. That is kind of what I do in my Saturday night meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n
The whole Fox team will know what to look for during the game with Brady leading the No. 1 crew.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always our goal here at Fox, everybody knows we are around,\u201d said Zager, referring to him and Shanks. \u201cBut the more the crews are little families and have each other\u2019s backs, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the film session, Brady and the Fox team go out to dinner and bond some more. This is the last meal of the 2025-26 season, which is a bit of a melancholy feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will definitely be a little sad on Saturday night after our dinner, knowing that Sunday\u2019s our last game of the year,\u201d Brady said.<\/p>\n
As the Seahawks and the Rams will be vying to go to the Super Bowl, there will be no doubt about who is leading Fox\u2019s broadcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are asking me, it\u2019s the analyst\u2019s show,\u201d Burkhardt said.<\/p>\n
To Brady, \u201cthe game is the magic\u201d and he is already planning for next year, perfecting the TB12 broadcasting method after shedding TMI.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven now, I probably have too much information,\u201d Brady said. \u201cI think next year I\u2019m going to streamline it even more.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom Brady is on the other end of the phone line from Miami, going behind-the-scenes of his daunting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,249,6,156,250],"class_list":{"0":"post-696439","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-new-england-patriots","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports-business","12":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115939168180709817","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}