Drew Brees is making his Fox debut Sunday afternoon, calling Packers-Giants at MetLife Stadium alongside Adam Amin. The assignment lands Brees on what appears to be Fox’s No. 3 or No. 4 team, a softer landing spot than the one Tom Brady had when he transitioned into the booth last year.
Brady knows what Brees is walking into, and he had some advice during Fox NFL Sunday‘s pregame show.
“I’m glad I’m not a rookie anymore, but I’d warn him of all the mistakes I made in my first year, but we’d be here for an hour,” Brady said. “So, I’m not going to tell you any of those things. He knows what to do. Have fun, just enjoy yourself, and don’t read all those social media comments after.”
Brady spent his first season being criticized for being too cautious, for not providing enough Xs-and-Os analysis, and for offering surface-level observations that didn’t match Fox’s $375 million investment. And since the network replaced Greg Olsen with Brady on the top team, every underwhelming moment got magnified. By February, many in sports media — including us at Awful Announcing — were still debating whether he belonged in the broadcast booth to begin with.
Brees is walking into the same environment, just with lower stakes and less money attached to his name. And is doing so after Fox cut ties with Mark Sanchez following his arrest on felony battery charges.
This is Brees’ second chance at calling NFL games. NBC brought him in for 2021 to work the Football Night in America studio and call Notre Dame games. The network was grooming him as Cris Collinsworth’s eventual successor on Sunday Night Football. After bombing his audition during the Raiders-Bengals wild-card game in January 2022, Brees was out of a job.
Whether Brees sticks at Fox depends on how quickly he adjusts. Brady’s first year was rough enough that people questioned whether the investment was worth it. He’s better now — still not elite — but competent enough that Fox isn’t regretting the deal. Brees has the advantage of lower expectations and a partner who can help carry the broadcast. He also has the disadvantage of already failing once.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.