Tom Brady is a lot of things.
A broadcaster? Yes.
A good one? It depends on who you ask.
If you ask Awful Announcing’s Ben Axelrod, he’d tell you that Brady isn’t a fit for broadcasting. And there are plenty of examples to support that claim. Including recently when Brady perhaps tried to make a tongue-in-cheek joke, but came across as ill-prepared when he couldn’t remember the Green Bay Packers earlier loss to the Minnesota Vikings while calling their second meeting.
Whatever his intention was then, it appears his intention now is to be more and more involved with the Las Vegas Raiders as a minority owner. Of course, some rules preclude him from doing certain things, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter also indicated those were probably a bit overstated.
If Brady had gotten a pass before, he isn’t getting one now. We aren’t talking about the broadcast restrictions but his broadcast performances. He was heavily critiqued in Week 16 — and he’s been heavily critiqued all season long.
It’s been clear from the get-go that Fox made a mistake in demoting Greg Olsen for the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, but they also have a nearly $400 million commitment over the next decade. Which is why Brady gracing our TV screens until 2034 seems inevitable.
Or is it?
Not according to The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, who penned some bold predictions for 2025 in sports media. One of them concerns Brady’s immediate future. Deitsch believes—and is boldly predicting—that Brady will step away from broadcasting before the start of the 2025 NFL season.
I’ve previously said I’d put down big money that Brady will not finish his 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox, given all his various business interests away from broadcasting, including ownership. That remains true. The safer prediction would be that Brady walks away from his Fox deal after three or four years. But I’m going bold and saying Brady gets deeper involved with the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason and decides to go all in with NFL ownership and his production company by the start of the next NFL season.
Deitsch isn’t the only sports media insider who believes Brady’s ties to the Raiders will be his escape hatch from broadcasting. Back in October Daniel Roberts of Front Office Sports predicted at some point Brady would leave the booth for a larger role with the Raiders.
Tom Brady might be the GOAT on the field, but as Richard Deitsch boldly predicts, his time in the booth — and at Fox — could be winding down before the next NFL season even kicks off.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.