Tom Brady is set to man the broadcast booth for Fox to serve as the network’s top NFL analyst next season. Before he officially starts in that role, he has been reaching out to some of the top broadcasters in the sport for advice, including the likes of Jim Nantz, Erin Andrews, and Tony Romo. This list also includes his longtime rival in the NFL, Peyton Manning.
Manning has, of course, played a big role in changing how fans consume the NFL as a whole. That’s with his alternate Manningcast stream of ESPN Monday Night Football, alongside his brother Eli.
However, Manning’s role on the Manningcast is far different than what Brady will be diving into with a traditional color analyst job at Fox. And he’s previously said he’s “not sure I’m the right guy” to give Brady advice. And he detailed that even further in a recent interview with Andrew Marchand of The Athletic that he doesn’t believe that he is “worthy” of giving Brady advice on his upcoming role with Fox.
“He’s reached out to me for advice,” Manning said of Brady. “I said, ‘Tom, I watch football from my neighbor’s garage on Monday nights. I’m not sure I’m worthy of being called for advice for what you’re about to do.'”
While there are some very clear differences between what Manning does to what Brady will do at Fox, Manning may be selling himself a bit short here.
There is a certain magic that Peyton and Eli bring to the Manningcast which has clearly worked for them, oftentimes speaking of their experience in the NFL to compare or contrast to the action on the field to help viewers further understand what they are seeing play out in any given game.
That is something that Brady can certainly do in the Fox booth next season, and Manning can potentially be a great person for Brady to point to in that sense.
It’s not exactly a surprise to hear Manning undersell what he does on the Manningcast, however, as he appears to be quite humble about his abilities as a broadcaster overall.
Manning also spoke with Marchand about being chosen to cover the upcoming Paris 2024 Summer Olympics for NBC in July, an idea pitched by NBC’s Mike Tirico, detailing that he didn’t feel “worthy” for this honor either.
“I kind of argued with him (Mike Tirico) as to why he and NBC thought I was worthy,” Manning told Marchand. “He said they were bringing in Kelly Clarkson to kind of give the perspective of a fan and wanted me to share the perspective of what these athletes are thinking about it.”
And Manning also weighed in on Marchand’s previous report of his Omaha Productions looking to hire Bill Belichick:
“If it comes to fruition, I think fans will be excited to see how incredibly brilliant Bill Belichick is when talking about football and how witty and funny he is.”
But it’s the Brady remarks here that really stand out. And regardless of whether Manning realizes it or not, his broadcasting style certainly garners attention and admiration from viewers at home. And there are some non-traditional aspects of what he does that Brady can draw from in his upcoming color commentary role with Fox.
