One necessary component of any great NFL broadcast team is getting to know each other. Getting to know the little ins and outs of the other person’s career — usually meaning a play-by-play guy learns all the details about his almost certainly ex-NFL player/color commentator’s career.
In the case of Fox Sports and their No. 1 NFL broadcast team of play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt and NFL legend Tom Brady, it would seem to be easier than most to do so.
That’s because Brady had one of the most storied and documented careers in NFL history over 23 seasons and 7 Super Bowl wins — 20 seasons and 6 Super Bowls with the New England Patriots followed by 3 seasons and 1 Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Someone might need to tell Burkhardt about the latter stretch of Brady’s career, because during a Week 4 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Buccaneers in Tampa Bay, Burkhardt whiffed as the duo discussed the stifling heat in Tampa Bay.
Burkardt not only forgot Brady played for the Buccaneers, he seemed to forget what city he was in.
“You were in cold weather in New England and came down and played here in Miami how did you deal with it? ” Burkhardt asked Brady.
Brady played for the Buccaneers from 2020 to 2022, winning a Super Bowl in his first season.
Brady’s History With Dolphins: Not Awesome
Brady does have some history with the Miami Dolphins. It’s not great. Maybe it’s what confused Burkhardt.
In August 2022, the Dolphins were stripped of their 2023 first round pick, 2024 third round pick, owner Stephen Ross was fined $1.5 million and vice chairman/minority owner Bruce Beal was fined $500,000 for violating the NFL’s anti-tampering policy for their interactions with Brady and with current Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton.
“Beal spearheaded impermissible communications with Brady, then the New England Patriots’ quarterback, while he was still under contract; Ross and other Dolphins executives were informed of the content of those conversations,” ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques wrote. “Both Ross and Beal tampered with Brady once again following the 2021 season, when he was under contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This time, however, the conversation centered on Brady joining the team as a limited partner and possibly a football executive — although the possibility of him playing for the team was discussed, according to the league’s investigation.”
Brady Cut Massive Deal To Join Fox Sports
Following his second retirement in 2023, Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox but delayed his entry into the broadcast booth for 1 year after signing the deal.
When he did finally make it into the booth, he bumped former NFL tight end Greg Olsen from the top spot on the Fox broadcast team and broke up what was one of the more celebrated broadcast booth combos in all of sports with Burkhardt and Olsen.
Brady’s first year with Burkhardt was a rocky ride but ended with him getting to broadcast Super Bowl LIX alongside Burkhardt — a win by the Eagles over the Kansas City Chiefs.