SI

It’s Not Hard to See Why Tom Brady Will Be Great in Fox’s NFL Booth

Brady’s opinions carry a lot of weight and he doesn’t seem shy about sharing them.

Jimmy Traina

Brady (left) calls a practice game on Sunday, Aug. 18.
Brady (left) calls a practice game on Sunday, Aug. 18. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

1. I have been on record in multiple places, on multiple occasions, saying that Tom Brady won’t be good as Fox’s lead NFL analyst—he will be GREAT as Fox’s lead NFL analyst.

When Brady joined me on the SI Media Podcast in June, he said his biggest concern about calling games with Kevin Burkhardt is that he doesn’t want to be overly critical.

I hope Brady realizes that we want him to be critical. The NFL and Fox may not want him to be critical, but fans and viewers want honesty. And sometimes honesty is criticism.

During his recent interview with Stephen A. Smith, Brady showed why he will be an outstanding listen in the booth if he remains blunt and honest.

It almost seems as if Brady can’t help but be critical. When Smith asked him to name the top five quarterbacks today, Brady could only name four.

With Mahomes the layup at No. 1, Brady then named Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. “And I think… I’ll leave it at those four,” said Brady, who clearly didn’t want to give props to anyone else.

Throughout the hour-long interview, the future Hall of Fame quarterback dished out insight that few can offer.

He talked about purposely not throwing the ball to receivers who weren’t prepared.

He also went off about the mismanagement of rookie quarterbacks.

If Brady gives us this version of himself during games this season, we will all win.

2. Huge news for NFL Sunday Ticket customers: Customizable multiview will be here for the 2024 season.

From Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal: "YouTube TV and YouTube users will be able to build custom two-, three-, or four-game multi-view panels – a function that YouTube tested last season."

3. Given the power and success of McAfee’s daily ESPN show and his role on College GameDay, it’s cool to see how much the WWE means to him, as you’ll see during this surprise tribute from Monday’s show.

After the show, in a moment not caught on television, McAfee addressed the crowd and his colleagues to say farewell.

4. Kirk Cousins celebrated his 36th birthday on Monday by putting together a playlist for the Falcons’ practice that day. Take out the awful Maroon 5 song and it’s a very solid effort by the quarterback.

5. I’m not sure why every baseball team doesn’t film its television broadcasters to capture awesome moments. SNY, the home of the Mets, always films Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling. Here’s what happened on Monday night when New York won on a walkoff home run.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with Radio Hall of Famer, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.

Russo talks about signing a new three-year contract extension with SiriusXM, the challenges of doing a daily radio show during the summer and staying relevant after so many years in the business.

Other topics discussed with Russo include his thoughts on whether Stephen A. Smith would ever leave First Take and ESPN, what Molly Qerim told him about his “What I'm Mad About” segment, the First Take moment that got him the most reaction, how he thinks Brady will fare as an analyst, doing sports talk radio during an election season, adding Peter Schrager to his show, what it’s like to have a son going into sports talk radio and much more.

Following Russo, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts" segment. This week's topics include the U.S. men’s basketball gold medal win, Season 3 of The Bear and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: If you grew up in the ‘80s, you knew the importance of Phil Donahue, who passed away on Monday. You also know that SNL’s Darrel Hammond did as good of an impression of Donahue as possible.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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