Troy Aikman knows what it’s like being a high-profile football player entering the broadcasting field in a very prominent way. It didn’t take long for Aikman to become the lead NFL analyst for Fox Sports, and he held onto that lead role at Fox and ESPN for the past two decades.
Tom Brady is getting into broadcasting while under an even bigger microscope than Aikman did. Aikman didn’t have social media scrutinizing his every word when he was learning the ropes like Brady will. Brady hasn’t even worked a game and many people have already decided how he’ll do in the booth.
Aikman talked with Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports where among many topics, the current Monday Night Football in-game analyst shared how he thinks Brady will do at Fox and gave him some broadcasting advice.
“Just to be himself,” Aikman said. “I have no illusions as to what it might look like for Tom. I think he’ll be fantastic. He’s been great at everything he’s done. The reason he has been so good is because he puts in the work. And that’s the key. You can fake it for a little bit, and then it catches up to you. You’ve got to put in the time. I think the fans deserve that – and Tom will give that to him.”
The former UCLA star continued: “I think [Brady’s] gonna be a huge success. I know he’s announced that he is gonna start up in 2024. I’m sure he’ll use this year to study, kind of the mechanics of it, how it works. And be as prepared as he can possibly be when he starts.”
Last month, Aikman was on Chris Long’s podcast and expressed similar sentiments about Brady, believing he’ll be “great” and telling him to “speak his mind” when on the air.
I’ll be honest, when it was announced Brady would go into broadcasting, I had my doubts that he would be any good. It can be difficult for someone who was such a gifted athlete to be able to articulate what’s going on to their audience. Not to mention, the $375 million price tag placed on an unproven broadcasting commodity doesn’t help alleviate the pressure. But Brady waiting until 2024 at least gave an indication he’s going to go in this new venture as prepared as possible.
Maybe Brady will find his groove and become a great broadcaster. Aikman feels like he will, and if anyone would know the situation Tom Brady is facing, it’s Troy Aikman.
