Phil Simms ‘just can’t picture Tom Brady up there announcing games’

It’s been hard to predict what Tom Brady will do next for a few years now. That reputation appears to be following him into the broadcasting booth.

Brady, who signed a $375 million 10-year contract with Fox last May, said in February that he plans to take a year off before he transitions from the football field to the booth. While many NFL folks were already skeptical of Brady’s broadcasting skills, the news that he was pushing the gig back a full year made many people question if it’ll ever even happen.

Add Phil Simms to that list. The CBS Sports’ The NFL Today studio analyst spoke with Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy and shared his opinion that he’s not fully convinced Brady will end up in the broadcasting booth every week.

“I’ve got to see it – or hear it – to believe it. I don’t know,” said Simms. “I just can’t picture Tom Brady up there announcing games. You know why? He’s Tom Brady. He’s just bigger than life…In this day and age, is it worth it for him?

“Hey, I think they’ll use him in different ways. I don’t care. I’m going to say he doesn’t do games. They’ll put him on a pregame show and let him talk a little. There’s lots of ways to use him. He’s Tom Brady…He looks good. And he knows a lot of football, that’s for sure. So yes, I think they’ll use him in a different way. I don’t have any insight – and I don’t even care. But I’ll be surprised if he does games. I will be.

“And you know, too, Greg Olsen did a good job this year. That has to make you sit back and wonder. So we’ll see.”

Simms understands what it takes to make that transition, having played quarterback in the NFL for 15 years before calling games for CBS for 20 years.

The former New York Giants quarterback was also asked about the fate of Inside the NFL, which will not return to Paramount+ in 2023.

“I have no clue,” said Simms. “I know it’s not on Paramount. So I know I won’t be on it…I will miss it. It was just a different platform. It was fun to do. There is a lot of freedom there.”

[Front Office Sports]