Tom Brady will soon foray into sports broadcasting. The legendary NFL quarterback appears poised to accept Fox Sports’ No. 1 color analyst job for the upcoming 2024 NFL season. Brady would replace lead color man Greg Olsen, who’s gotten rave reviews over the past few seasons. But Fox doled out a ton of money to Brady, and it has to go somewhere. Olsen’s future is in doubt, but he’ll likely be pursued heavily.
Brady’s biggest contemporary is also in sports media: Peyton Manning, the other legendary quarterback of their era. Manning and Brady’s classic playoff matchups rank as some of the most pivotal in the sport during the 21st Century. Several expected Manning to be in the same position Brady finds himself in. But instead of traditionally calling games, Peyton and his brother Eli dove into the alternate-cast game. The popular Manningcast became attached to ESPN’s ESPN Monday Night Football presentations.
That key difference is why the legendary Manning says he isn’t sure how to provide sound advice to the incoming Brady.
This week, Manning spoke to the media at the 2024 Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, Florida. The former multi-time NFL MVP addressed the situation, and Rock Riley of The Tampa Free Press asked him what advice he would give Brady.
I asked Peyton Manning how he thinks Tom Brady will do @NFLonFOX?
“I think Tom is an extremely hard worker.
So I have no doubt he’ll take that same work ethic ethic to the broadcasting job!
(Brady asked Peyton for advice) pic.twitter.com/O5u82YV7Qw— rock riley (@realrockriley) February 3, 2024
“I’m not sure I’m the right guy,” Manning said. “Tom actually reached out to me recently and had some questions. And I kinda said I’m not really sure what Eli and I do are the same as what you’re about to do. I know he spent time with Cris Collinsworth and some of the other commentators.”
More from Manning:
“Tom is an extremely hard worker, always has been and I have no doubt he’ll take that same work ethic to the broadcasting job and work hard at it. Kevin Burkhardt is one of the top play-by-play guys out there, so he’s got a great teammate already.”
As far as ESPN employees from whom Brady can solicit advice, Troy Aikman should be at the top of that theoretical list.
[Forbes]
