Tom Brady's journey into the world of commentary for FOX has been far from smooth sailing.
The New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend called it quits on an incredible NFL career back in 2023 - with seven Super Bowl rings to his name for his endeavors over the years. And rather than enjoying some time away from one of America's favorite sports, Brady announced that he would be joining the FOX NFL Sunday broadcasting team shortly after hanging up his cleats.
After signing a reported $375million ten-year contract with the broadcaster, the 47-year-old made his color commentary debut as the 2024 NFL season kicked off - with millions of fans worldwide tuning in to see how the legendary quarterback fared with media duties from the sidelines.
And while Brady has come on leaps and bounds over the course of the season, his time on-air hasn't always ran smoothly - faced with a number of setbacks in the form of criticisms for mistakes made. Here, Mirror US breaks down some of the hiccups Brady has had across the 2024 regular season, and the outrage that they caused...
A merciless roasting on his debut - September 2024
Brady will have been fully aware that the world was watching as he made his historic debut as a commentator with FOX in September. After all, fans were eager to see exactly how the GOAT would fare on the microphone, given his incredible 22-year career on the gridiron.
Brady provided commentary alongside Kevin Burkhardt for the Week One game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns on September 8, but struggled with the pace of his delivery right off the bat - coming across as awkward as he tripped over his words.
And fans were quick to point out that Brady seemed like a bit of an amateur in the media department during his first day on the job, taking to social media to criticise the star for his showing. One wrote: "I don't want to overreact to week 1 but Tom Brady is the worst announcer in the NFL," while another added: "Finally, something Tom Brady f---ing sucks at."
A slur live on-air - October 2024
Brady found himself under fire once more in October 2024, when he used an ableist slur to describe Buffalo Bills quarterback, Josh Allen. The player-turned-pundit was covering the Bills' game with the Seattle Seahawks when he used the word "s--" to describe Allen's playing style.
He said: "Sometimes he played like a "s---" like a grade-schooler on a sugar high, but now he's controlled the chaos. He's like a storm coming into town and you don't want that storm coming into this town." A shortened down version of "sp----c", the term is considered derogatory and offensive due to it being used against people with disabilities, and Brady received a wealth of uproar for his choice of words.
However, it was later reported that Allen knew the legendary quarterback meant no insult towards him during the incident.
Terry Bradshaw sick to his stomach - November 2024
Fellow FOX NFL Sunday presenter Terry Bradshaw was forced to cut-off Brady following the San Francisco 49ers' 23-20 win over the Buccaneers in November - when the QB was showering former Patriots team-mate Rob Gronkowski with praise. Brady explained: "Hey, I had the best tight end in the history of football in my boy Gronk sitting right there.
"All those big-time moments I was looking for him and [Brock] Purdy is doing the same thing with [George] Kittle. In those moments, he bought a little time in the pocket and then rolled left. And George, because he's got that size, he's kind of laid that ball up in the air and really good judgment by Kittle on the sideline to catch it and keep those feet in.
"Monster play. Wasn't quite the game-winner, but it went a long way." Never one to miss a beat, Bradshaw then jokingly interrupted Brady with a smile, displaying the camaraderie between the pair, as he said: "Tom, I gotta cut you off, this love fest is making me sick to my stomach. I think Gronk set you up, you had a little talk before this."
A moment of forgetfulness - December 2024
Brady was speaking during December's clash between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers when he suffered a ruthless hiccup live on-air - forgetting part of a key statistic. Headed into the game, Brady pointed out that the Packers had only suffered four defeats - two coming from the Detroit Lions and another in their seasonal opener with the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, the fourth side which the Packers had been beaten by eluded Brady. He explained: "They’ve got four losses this year, Green Bay does. Two of them to the Lions, they’re a good team. The Eagles, they lost to them, they’re a good team.
"And they lost to the, uh…who’d they lose to the other one? Anyway..." It turned out that it was the Vikings who had already handed the other defeat to the Packers back in September, edging out a close-fought 31-29 win over the Green Bay side. And fans took to social media to complain once more about Brady's presentational skills.
One wrote: "Painful really," while a second added: "Brady needs to stop talking!!! He never shuts up." A third went on: "He’s overrated and not good at sportscasting." However, others rushed to his defense, with another social media user arguing: "Nothing controversial about that at all. Y’all made it seem like he froze up."
Misnaming players and teams - January 2025
In January, Brady was once again on the receiving end of criticism from football fans after a couple of errors during the Eagles' NFC Wild Card clash with the Packers. Brady misnamed the Eagles by using the name used to describe the city's baseball team, saying: "'[You have] three timeouts, so you'd have a couple plays.
"But I like this call by the Phillies... excuse me, by Philly." He also then went on to mix up Packers running back Josh Jacobs with Brandon Jacobs - a 42-year-old former New York Giants and 49ers star who hasn't played since the 2013 season.
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