Tom Brady is no stranger to high-stakes debuts, but this fall, the NFL legend faces an entirely different kind of pressure. As FOX’s lead analyst for the 2025 NFL season, Brady is stepping into the spotlight with two massive national games to start the year, and the network isn’t easing him in.
Brady’s broadcast crew, alongside play-by-play veteran Kevin Burkhardt, reporter Erin Andrews, and storyteller Tom Rinaldi, will call Giants vs. Commanders on September 7, followed by a Week 2 Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl rematch.
These games aren’t just high-profile. They’re deliberate showcases meant to accelerate Brady’s development as a broadcaster, and FOX is banking on him becoming the voice of its NFL Sundays.
A second act with first-year growing pains
In interviews, Brady has admitted that no amount of film study prepared him for the pace and pressure of live broadcasting. “There was absolutely nothing that I did that could really prepare me for what I was about to endure,” he said.
Comparing the booth experience to his rookie NFL season, he recalled struggling with “where are my eyes? What am I doing?”, a learning curve that only repetition could fix.
That curve was clear to viewers. Early in the season, Brady’s delivery was uneven. There were moments of awkward pauses and pacing issues, and critics noted that he occasionally stepped on play-by-play calls. But as the season progressed, he began to show sharper timing, better use of the telestrator, and a more confident voice.
By the time he called the Super Bowl, Brady was noticeably improved – more concise, better at pausing for crowd noise, and clearer in his analysis.
FOX is doubling down on that progress. The network’s 2025 schedule places Brady’s crew in two critical September windows, compressing a season’s worth of learning into just eight days. These games, packed with defensive firepower and coaching intrigue, are ideal opportunities for Brady to demonstrate deeper insight.
He’ll break down trench battles featuring stars like Dexter Lawrence II and Brian Burns, while revisiting his Super Bowl analysis with fresh context.
The stakes go beyond performance. Brady’s $375 million, 10-year FOX deal remains the biggest in sports media history. Despite restrictions tied to his minority ownership of the Raiders, which limit some team access, FOX continues to position him as the face of its NFL brand.
Now entering Year 2, Brady’s mission is clear: prove he can read the booth like he once read a blitz.
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