Tom Brady is scheduled to begin his much-awaited broadcasting career with Fox Sports this year, and even the GOAT quarterback realizes he’s a rookie when it comes to being an NFL analyst.
So Brady is doing what all smart rookies do, reaching out to people with more experience for advice. He recently found a surprising source as a mentor in Scott Zolak, who serves as color analyst for New England Patriots radio broadcasts on Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Brady and Zolak already have something in common — Zolak played seven seasons as quarterback for the Patriots, although mostly as a backup.
MassLive.com reported that Brady recently reached out to Zolak.
“He actually called me two weeks ago and we went over calling games,” Zolak said last week on the “Eye on Foxboro” podcast. “He tried to pick my brain as he gets ready to do games with Fox.”
Brady will serve as color analyst for Fox, working on the network’s No. 1 team with play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. Given the size of his contract (10 years, $375 million) and his exploits as a player, expectations will be enormous. Brady admitted recently that broadcasting is “outside of my comfort zone.”
But he will have help learning the business. Veteran broadcaster Joe Buck recently offered to help Brady learn the ropes.
Zolak said he’s shared with Brady what to expect when he starts.
“I’m just amazed he’s doing it. Going in, I told him the biggest thing you’re going to find out, these production meetings, everybody’s going to want to do story time with Tom Brady,” Zolak said (via MassLive). “He goes, ‘no, no, no,’ … but I told him, you’re a different guy. You’re not Troy Aikman, you’re not Tony Romo. You’re Tom Brady.”
“The thing I appreciate with Tom, is the attention to details,” Zolak said. “Same thing with (Bill) Parcells and (Bill) Belichick. Brady wants to attack this. He’s talking to everybody. The fact he even called me … I do a radio call for the home team, which is sort of a rah, rah call. I said, ‘You’re down the middle, and everybody is going to be hanging on every word you say.’’’
Brady’s first NFL-related career went pretty well. There’s no reason to think his work with Fox will be any different.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.