Tom Brady has faced some criticism in his rookie season as an NFL color commentator for Fox Sports. Fortunately, he’s been able to turn to media darling and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for help.
“He has gently grilled Travis for advice on how to be quick and keep the comments interesting for fans,” said a source familiar with the situation. Life and style. “It’s all about spectacle and Tom knows it.”
Like Brady, Kelce is a former Saturday Night Live host with extensive media experience. But while the retired quarterback has primarily appeared in commercials, Kelce has a much more diverse background that includes his hit podcast, New Heights.
“You have to hand it to Tom: He knows when he needs help and he knows exactly where to go to ask for it,” the source told Life & Style. ‘The goal in Tom’s first year on the air at Fox is not to embarrass himself and not ruin the handful of blockbuster games he will air this year. No one pretends there isn’t a steep learning curve when it comes to being good on air, live in front of millions of fans.’
Brady will call up Kelce and the 5-0 Chiefs on Sunday when they host the 3-3 San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of last February’s Super Bowl.
Fox Sports’ Tom Brady before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions
Travis Kelce has a successful podcast in addition to several other media endeavors
Brady’s Week 1 debut drew mixed reviews, but he has steadily improved throughout the season, according to fans.
“Tom Brady is clearly quite nervous in his NFL television debut,” one X user wrote at the time. “It’s kind of funny to remember that the greatest quarterback to ever do it is still a human being at the end of the day.”
“Tom Brady is taking a beating on X right now in his broadcasting debut,” wrote Gary Lezak, former Kansas City chief meteorologist. ‘I spent 38 years in broadcasting and he is a rookie on his first day. I can tell he’s very nervous and it’s not something that gets better instantly. He’ll get a lot better, so cut him some slack. And let’s see how it improves in the coming weeks.”
Things have been going much better for Brady this month.
“The progress is there,” wrote Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. “It’s incremental, but he’s already a different announcer after four games compared to his Sept. 8 call. The most obvious thing is a greater comfort level. I’d give him a B-after four weeks and consider that grade a success. ‘
