The future of broadcasting presents a new challenge for Tom Brady for the ultimate champion

CNN
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Tom Brady He was the eventual winner in the field but that success does not guarantee seven times power Champ will make a smooth transition when he steps into the TV booth to begin his new role as the NFL’s leading analyst.

The 45-year-old Brady, who retired from the NFL earlier Wednesday after a remarkable 23-year career, agreed last May to join Fox Sports. An age-defying career as a quarterback has come to an end.

Brady, whose extensive preparations for the Games are chronicled, has an unparalleled knowledge of the sport. If he can translate what he sees on the field as quickly as he processes plays like a quarterback, he could prove to be one of the best analysts around.

But the transition from the field to the TV booth isn’t always easy, and it can take a long time to relax, laugh at himself, and not seek attention.

“It’s going to be a challenge. Tom is a very serious guy, at least in terms of his public persona,” Neil Bilson, the former president of CBS Sports who now runs his own sports TV consulting firm, told Reuters.

“He’s going to get a massive amount of money from Fox and I think he’s going to feel the pressure of entertaining people, and up until now Tom’s way of entertaining people has been by playing quarterback and showing how good he is.”

The terms of Brady’s deal with Fox Sports were never disclosed Media reports The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots quarterback have agreed to a 10-year, $375 million contract.

Fox will air the Feb. 12 Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, but the network did not immediately respond when asked by Reuters if Brady would be part of the lineup.

Bilson suggests that it would be best for Brady if he didn’t make his analyst debut at the Super Bowl because that would immediately expose him during the most-watched NFL game of the year.

There was no shortage of players who became football analysts after their NFL careers, including Hall of Fame members Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Emmett Smith, and Shannon Sharpe.

Rob Ninkovich, who won two Super Bowl titles with the Bradys in New England and now works as an NFL analyst for ESPN, told Reuters that a job talking football on TV could help ease some of the toughest phases of retirement.

“Michael Jordan can play a little game of three-on-three somewhere and still, you know, shoot basketball and feel like he’s playing basketball,” Ninkovich said. “Footballers, unfortunately, hang it up and you’ll never wear a helmet, shoulder pads.

“She’s trying to fill that void with other activities, maybe business or, you know, entrepreneurship or even TV, you still talk about football and get involved in football — but you can’t stand the beating.”