Bill Simmons. Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
Not only has Bill Simmons been severely underwhelmed with Tom Brady’s early broadcasting career, he thinks things are steadily going downhill.
“I thought Brady was just bad today,” Simmons, 55, founder of The Ringer, said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” Sunday, November 3.
Simmons was referencing Brady’s call of the game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers earlier in the day, alongside his Fox Sports broadcast partner Kevin Burkhardt.
“He comes in the beginning, he’s got this fake energy where he’s going, ‘Ah, I’m so excited for this one Kevin [Burkhardt],” Simmons said. “None of it feels genuine to me.”
Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox Sports in 2022 before making his broadcasting debut this September.
“I don’t think he’s good at it,” Simmons continued. “We’ve had 9 weeks and I feel like he’s gotten worse than he was four, five weeks ago. Now he’s gotten too many notes. When we get to the playoffs and there’s only one game on, it’s going to be pretty glaring.”
Burkhardt, 50, and Brady — who has openly critiqued his own TV performance, saying he had “things to clean up” after his first game — will be on the call for Super Bowl LIX, which airs live on Fox from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9, 2025.
Tom Brady. NFL on FOX/YouTube
Specifically, Simmons took issue with Brady not utilizing his vault of football knowledge during broadcasts. For instance, when Packers quarterback Jordan Love aggravated an injury during the game on Sunday, Simmons argued CBS analyst Tony Romo would have capitalized on the moment.
“Romo would have dove into that,” Simmons said. “Like, ‘I can tell Love’s hurt, here’s why. Watch this throw, watch his plant leg.’ Just teach me something. Brady’s not teaching us anything.”
Simmons ultimately placed the blame for Brady’s performance on his producers, who he said have “over prepared” Brady to the point of exhaustion.
Tom Brady’s highly anticipated debut as a Fox Sports commentator wasn’t exactly a touchdown — at least according to one teammate. While watching the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns season opener, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Antonio Brown decided to sound off on his former quarterback’s performance in the broadcast booth. “Maybe someone should have […]
“I think he’s being poorly produced is where I’ve landed,” Simmons contended. “Whatever they’re telling him to do, it’s not working.”
In an attempt to inject some positivity into the conversation, Simmons said all hope might not be lost if they just throw everything out the window.
“I really think they need to hit the reset button,” he said. “Clear the cache. Start over and just be like, ‘We overloaded you with too much stuff. Let’s get back to the basics. Just watch the game with Burkhardt, tell us what you see. Come into the game with 5 or 6 things that you know you want to hit.’”
Brady returns to the broadcast booth on Sunday, November 10, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the San Francisco 49ers.
