Everyone makes mistakes, including Tom Brady.
But Brady’s constant struggles in the announcing booth are becoming concerning as the NFL playoffs approach.
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The seven-time Super Bowl winner is set to call his first big game for FOX on February 9, 2025 in New Orleans.
Brady is scheduled to handle the color commentary for SB LIX while Kevin Burkhardt commands play-by-play.
Burkhardt is widely viewed as a pro in the booth who can be relied upon to capture the intricacies of a complicated game.
Despite being the GOAT of NFL quarterbacks, Brady has been heavily criticized during his first season as an announcer, and his on-air struggles during Week 17 only increased concerns about his ability to properly call the biggest annual sporting event in the world.
“He is awful at this job,” one fan tweeted. “It’s awkward. Just keeping it 100.”
“He’s the GOAT but announcing really isn’t his gig (right now),” a second fan posted.
“Niceties out of the way, he is a truly AWFUL announcer and he should quit before he completely destroys his legacy,” a third fan wrote.
Before a 27-25 road loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, the Green Bay Packers had lost just four times.
Yet Brady, who received a historic 10-year and $375 million contract from FOX, couldn’t remember the three teams that beat the Packers while appearing live on air.
“Two of them to the (Detroit) Lions — they’re a good team,” Brady said.
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“The (Philadelphia) Eagles, they lost to them. They’re a good team.”
An extended pause followed and only became more awkward as Brady dragged out his live miss by not saying anything.
“And they lost to the uh … ,” Brady said.
“Who’d they lose to, the other one?”
With cameras zeroing in on the opening kickoff, Brady knew he’d flubbed his moment before a national TV audience.
“Anyway,” he said. “They’ve got a big opportunity today to go on the road, and really a litmus test for what they’re going to face in two weeks.
“Can’t wait to watch.”
Making the moment even more awkward was the fact that Green Bay’s fourth loss had been to the team they were playing again right in front of Brady — the Vikings.
Brady also troubled fans by constantly referring to the red zone as the “red area.”
The NFL’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns — Brady had 649 TDs during his 23-year playing career — doesn’t appear to know that both sides of the field from the 20-yard line to the end zone have a universally recognized TV term.
“Tom Brady irks me,” one fan tweeted. ” ‘The red area’ — it’s the red zone.”
“Somebody PLEASE tell Tom Brady it’s called THE RED ZONE not ‘The Red Area,’ ” a second fan posted.
Fans also picked up on the odd way that Brady pronounces “sacks,” with the word sounding more like “socks.”
“Cali + Boston accent got him,” a fan tweeted.
Brady has about a month to prepare for the biggest announcing game of his life.
Fans will be even less kind if he blows the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
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