One of the major sports media storylines of the NFL season has been the improvement of Tom Brady as lead analyst for the NFL on Fox. We’ve heard from pretty much everybody about Brady’s growth as an announcer. And now Brady himself is sharing his story from his own perspective.
Brady has been everywhere in his post-playing career from his television work to ownership of the Raiders to his vast collection of business interests. With everything going on in Brady’s world, it has largely been left to media observers and his Fox Sports colleagues to talk about how he has settled into his role as the $375 million man in the lead Fox Sports broadcast booth.
But in an interview with The Athletic, Tom Brady shared some fascinating insights on how he was able to let loose this season and show way more of his insights and personality as a television analyst than in his first season.
Simply put, it was to start thinking like a quarterback and not as an announcer.
“I started to transition this year into, ‘Let me do more of how I did it as a quarterback,’ because that’s really where my comfort is,” Brady told Andrew Marchand. “As opposed to, ‘Let me try to prepare as a broadcaster.’”
A great example of how Tom Brady has shifted his approach in his second year was this great explainer on how to throw a football in the wind. It’s the type of knowledge fans have been craving from Brady, who is the unquestioned greatest quarterback of all-time. And as he’s grown more comfortable in the broadcast booth, we are seeing more of those special and unique insights that made him the best.
Tom Brady explains the mechanics of throwing the football in heavy wind, which has been a major factor during 49ers-Eaglespic.twitter.com/UmrpVfMezl
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 11, 2026
Brady also credited broadcast partner Kevin Burkhardt for his growth. He relayed that the pair played golf after their first season together and discussed how to make the broadcast more relatable and conversational. Their chemistry together is a testament to how Burkhardt has stepped into the role as the lead play-by-play voice at Fox, but also how adaptable both have been at forming a partnership that could last well into the next decade if Brady sticks around the industry.
“I love Kevin,” Brady said. “He’s like ‘a brother from another mother.’ We have a bond for life. He’s a world-class person. He is one of the most genuine, thoughtful, caring people I’ve ever been around.
“Not only that, he is so talented in what he does. He’s so embracing of everybody around him. It’s an amazing quality.
“I value Kevin as much as anybody I’ve ever worked with.”
Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt will call the NFC Championship Game this Sunday between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks for their final broadcast of the 2025 NFL season. If Brady can take another step forward next season, he could grow into being one of the elite analysts covering the NFL.
