Tom Rinaldi is one of the very few people in the inner circle at Fox who have an up-close view of Tom Brady as the network’s new top NFL analyst.
If there’s anything that matters to the legendary storyteller Rinaldi, it is passion and hard work. And so far, it sounds like Brady is checking both those boxes in the eyes of his sideline reporter.
“Tom has been fantastic as a teammate,” Rinaldi recently told Barrett Media of Brady. “He has been humble; he has been eager. He’s been incredibly hard-working in his preparation, and he has wanted to take in the guidance and the help from the precincts that are giving it to him at Fox.”
Before Brady’s promising yet inconsistent first two weeks in the Fox booth, his work ethic was already the stuff of legend. Brady reportedly called several practice games at Fox’s Los Angeles studios before traveling to various preseason matchups to get more reps. The seven-time Super Bowl champion was also working his Rolodex, with several people in NFL media fessing up to calls with Brady to coach him on life as an announcer.
Still, there is a difference between working hard and being humble enough to accept help. And beyond that, be a gracious and enthusiastic colleague to everyone at Fox.
Rinaldi continued that he expects Brady’s “joy” to continue building throughout his debut season as a broadcaster.
“That lens to have the greatest player in the history of the sport as part of our team is beyond, I think, what anybody would have imagined, and I think Tom is going to continue to grow in his joy of doing this,” Rinaldi said.
As the NFL world waits to see how Brady does this season on his way to calling a Super Bowl in New Orleans and whether his gig at Fox lasts longer than one year, he seems to be just as good a teammate in the media as he was on the gridiron.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.