The greatest quarterback in NFL history was a rookie in the broadcast booth for FOX last season, and it showed.
The consensus among NFL fans after Brady’s debut season as a color commentator was that he should pursue other ventures, like his new gig as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. Brady’s analysis was often awkward, choppy, and lacked the insight of a player who spent 23 seasons terrorizing the AFC East and every defensive coordinator he went up against.
It’s important to note, however, that Brady was playing by a special set of rules. As a partial owner, he was barred from attending practices or even sitting in on game-week production meetings, leaving him with less intimate information and an obvious fear of saying the wrong thing. For one of the most detail-obsessed and preparation-focused players the NFL has ever seen, there’s no way Brady felt like himself in the booth in Year 1.
Thankfully, the NFL has come to its senses, and fans should get a much better glimpse at what Brady can provide behind the mic this year.
A major win: NFL will grant Tom Brady access to broadcast production meetings in 2025
While it’s understandable why teams would ban a parietal NFL owner from practices, nixing production meetings never made much sense. Intimate, game-specific information flows through those discussions, and the fact that Brady had to be briefed on those meetings by broadcast partner Kevin Burkhardt is kind of brutal.
Brady definitely sounded nervous in the booth over his first couple of games, but working at a disadvantage certainly didn’t help.
The NFL will allow Tom Brady — FOX’s lead analyst and a minority owner of the #Raiders — to take part in production meetings with coaches and teams this season, per @AndrewMarchand.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 27, 2025
Brady was banned from doing so last year (aside from the Super Bowl). He’s still not expected to… pic.twitter.com/ifcn3q9ew0
This change is obviously a good decision by the NFL, which wants its signature late-afternoon games to run as smoothly as possible. Fans loved Tony Romo (at least early in his career) for his pre-snap play predictions. The color analyst Brady replaced, Greg Olson, has been lauded for his now-proven ability to avoid fanfare and terrible cliches while explaining things clearly in real time.
Few have watched more NFL game film over the past two decades than Brady. He has the unique ability to be the perfect cross between what Romo and Olson do well. If he can improve on the nuances of knowing when (and how long) to speak, and start delivering more takes than reactions, fans could be in for a real treat.
Granting Brady more pre-game access should definitely help.