Skip Bayless may have been an admirer of Tom Brady on the football field, but he definitely isn’t a fan of the seven-time Super Bowl champion being in the NFL on Fox broadcast booth.
On the latest episode of The Skip Bayless Show podcast, the former FS1 host responded to a question about whether Brady could lead the Miami Dolphins to a Super Bowl this season. Bayless later surmised that Brady was too committed to his second career, even though it doesn’t seem like he truly believed that the former quarterback was all that was committed to Fox.
“And did he ever just go gangster on Fox, my ex-network? Did he just bogart Fox,” Bayless said of Brady. “He just said to Fox, you’re gonna pay me…to be your number one commentator on NFL games, and I’m going to go through with the process and get approved to be an owner of the Las Vegas Raiders…
“That disqualifies Tom from being the broadcaster that I’m sure he hoped he would become because now he is prohibited from going to practices as a broadcaster and from going to production meetings to interview players and coaches as a broadcaster. Cannot do it because you are an owner, and the other owners say, ‘No, no, no, we now have Tom Brady rules.’ I don’t blame them for that. I do blame Tom Brady for trying to have his cake and eat all of it, too.”
Brady’s bid to become a limited partner of the Las Vegas Raiders was approved by NFL ownership last week. The approval put further emphasis on league rules prohibiting Brady from attending production meetings or criticizing other teams and NFL officials. Despite working for Fox under these restrictions the entire season, Brady has already shown notable improvement as a broadcaster. And despite Bayless accusing Brady of going “gangster on Fox,” the network has yet to show any buyer’s remorse.
“I don’t think he’ll ever be a very good broadcaster, never better than average,” Bayless continued. “I’ve had to listen to him, watch him four times now on Cowboys games. And frankly, he has driven me crazier and crazier. He is the ultimate Captain Obvious. He is ultimately ‘Aw-shucks, gee-whiz Tom.’ Trying to be nice guy Tom and say nice things…And now he has resorted to babbling and babbling more and more as he tries harder and harder to be great at broadcasting. Driving me crazy.”
According to Bayless, Brady shined for Fox in one recent moment: when he called out Peyton Manning’s touchdown record on the air last week.
“We need more of that Brady,” Bayless said. “That pirate is in there. That gangster is in there. But he’s not going to come out on broadcasts because Tom still wants to be seen as a really nice guy. I don’t think he’ll ever be better than average as a broadcaster, and I think he just sealed his fate by becoming an owner and gangstering Fox.”
The NFL restricting a broadcaster from criticizing teams or officials certainly seems like a hindrance for the announcer and the network they’re announcing on. But how much of a hinderance depends on how strictly those restrictions are going to be enforced.
While Brady might not be able to call for an official or head coach to be fired, it does seem like the NFL is willing to tolerate some level of criticism. Brady has already questioned calls and disagreed with decision-making on the field at times during his first season as a broadcaster for Fox.
And acccording to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Brady has been abiding by the restrictions placed on him.
