Now that he’s retired from the NFL, Tom Brady no longer judges himself based on wins and losses. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be anything less than committed as he begins his 10-year, $375 million gig at Fox Sports this fall.
“Certainly, as a broadcaster, I don’t think it’s about competition for me,” Brady Colin Cowherd said on Monday’s show.
‘For me it’s about: ‘Did I put everything into it? Did I give the fans everything they tuned in for?’ Brady asked rhetorically.
“That’s really how I’m going to judge myself in the end and I’m going to have to look at myself at the end of every Sunday night and say, ‘Did I do good enough?’ Did I live up to the faith Fox had in me? Did I live up to the expectations of my teammates Kevin Burkhardt and Erin? [Andrews] and Tom [Rinaldi] and Richie Zyontz and Rich Russo and our whole truck and our whole team?” That is ultimately how I will judge myself in that new role.”
But Brady isn’t just moving into the announcer’s booth. He also wants to gain a foothold, provided he and the NFL can find a way to approve his purchase of a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.
Tom Brady is preparing to take over as Fox Sports’ top NFL color commentator this fall
Brady is seen standing next to his Las Vegas Aces co-owner Mark Davis, who also owns the Raiders
How much closer the seven-time Super Bowl champion is to joining the league’s owners’ club remains to be seen.
The owners did not vote in March on Brady’s plan to add a stake in the Raiders to his minority stake in the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. The league concluded its spring meetings Wednesday at a Nashville hotel without a vote on Brady’s bid, which has been pending for about a year.
“The Finance Committee has done its job on this issue, and we still have some more to do,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said May 22.
NFL owners are not scheduled to meet again until October.
One problem is the price Brady was willing to pay to join George Halas and Jerry Richardson as only the third former NFL player to become owners. Owners want to make sure Brady doesn’t get a cut, especially as the value of NFL franchises continues to rise.
And Brady’s new gig on Fox Sports also complicates matters.
TV networks not only have pregame production meetings with team coaches, they can also watch practices as part of their preparation. That’s a lot of access for someone with a potential financial stake in one of the NFL’s 32 teams.
“That was one of the factors in determining what access as a member of the media looks like each week as he prepares to broadcast the game,” Goodell said. ‘And we talked about that too. So we are making progress.’