Tom Brady shares broadcasting mindset ahead of Fox debut

Living legend Tom Brady sounds ready to speak his mind when he officially becomes Fox's lead NFL analyst later this year.

"I have a high expectation how the game is supposed to be played and how it needs to be coached, how it needs to be officiated," Brady said during an NFL Network interview that will air on Thursday evening, per Nick Shook of the league's website. "I want to see the game grow. I want to see the game succeed. I want to see it better than ever. How can I play a role in impacting that? I can give my opinion, and if people want to listen, great, but if they don't, that's OK."

As far back as the spring of 2022, Hall of Famer Kurt Warner warned that Brady would "have to figure out how to truly analyze and be critical of what’s going on but not be critical of people" while in the Fox booth. Unlike individuals such as Warner and ESPN's Troy Aikman, Brady will be analyzing the performances of coaches and players he competed with and against as recently as January 2023.

Former Patriots running back James White has served as a SiriusXM co-host and a Big Ten Network analyst since retiring as a player. White acknowledged last month that "it’s hard to speak about people [who] you’ve played with or coaches that have coached you."

Some may tune in to see if Brady will flop as the replacement for fan-favorite Greg Olsen, who is being relegated to Fox's No. 2 crew to make room for the seven-time Super Bowl champion. Brady seems to understand that, much like a rookie quarterback, he will experience ups and downs during his first year working alongside play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Burkhardt.

"I've got a lot of things I've learned through playing football that are going to allow me to hopefully convey really unique things to the listeners every single week, but at the same time, there's going to be a lot of growth that I'm going to have over a period of time, too," Brady explained. "So, coming out of the box, I want to do well, but I also know that I'm not a finished product, that I'm going to make plenty of mistakes, but I'm going to learn as I go."

Brady and Fox agreed to a 10-year deal reportedly worth $375M after the 2021 season, so the network likely will show plenty of patience if he stumbles starting when he makes his official broadcasting debut on Sept. 8. He'll be calling a Week 1 game between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns.