Tom Brady’s broadcasting team says he’s fixed his biggest problem

Tom Brady’s first year in the Fox booth was a mixed bag. The guy who won seven Super Bowls somehow couldn’t figure out how to end a sentence on television.

But according to the people who work with him every week, Year 2 is already looking different. Fox Sports lead producer Richie Zyontz and director Rich Russo sat down with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch to give an honest assessment of Brady’s progress, and their takeaway is that he’s learning fast.

“I think he took a pretty deep dive into Year 1, and as he would as a player, he attacks things with vigilance, in terms of improving,” Zyontz said during a recent appearance on Sports Media with Richard Deitsch. “He made adjustments to his preparation. Now, he sort of has a much better feel for what a broadcast actually is, what’s required, what’s not.”

The biggest change? Brady stopped trying to be a walking encyclopedia.

“I know he has pared down some of the research he’s done, in terms of information, so he’s much wiser in that regard,” Zyontz explained.

That makes sense because Brady’s problem was never a lack of knowledge; it was trying to share all of it at once.

His debut got mixed reviews, with most sports media critics noting he sounded nervous and overprepared. By Week 2, people were already noticing improvements, but the fundamental issue remained, which is that Brady knew too much and couldn’t organize his thoughts for television.

“These guys know so much about the game. Tom is a walking encyclopedia. His wisdom is beyond belief,” Zyontz said. “You know how to start a thought. Everyone can start a thought, but it’s what’s the exit ramp for that thought? How do you end the thought? And I think that there’s where we still need to improve. But I think it’s imminently fixable.”

That’s been Brady’s biggest broadcasting flaw from the start. He’d begin explaining something complex about route running or defensive concepts, then trail off without finishing the point. It made for awkward moments where Kevin Burkhardt had to jump in to move things along.

Director Rich Russo focused on the technical side of Brady’s improvement. “I think he’s gotten more comfortable with the mechanics. Even from last year, as the year went on, I think he’s definitely gotten more comfortable with the TV part of it.”

The mechanics matter more than fans realize. Where do you look during a play? How much time do you spend watching the field versus the monitor? When do you jump in with analysis? These aren’t natural skills for someone who spent 23 years focused entirely on playing quarterback.

“I think he’s gotten more comfortable with the mechanics. Even from last year, as the year went on, I think he’s definitely gotten more comfortable with the TV part of it,” Russo said. “I think he’s really identifying the monitor with what’s going on in the field. Where do your eyes go during the game? He’s watching the field. How much do you watch the field? And then how much do you look at the monitor? How much do you watch the field pre-snap? And then how much do you watch the monitor… I think he’s finding that balance, and he’s really seeing the monitor, looking at the monitor, and just matching pictures.”

That coordination between what Brady sees live and what viewers see on their screens is crucial for good analysis. If he’s watching the field while talking about something happening on a replay, it creates disconnect. Learning to match his commentary to the pictures viewers are seeing is Broadcasting 101, but it takes time to master.

Brady’s also getting better at working with the production team behind the scenes.

“I think the replays have been really in sync, as far as our replays and what he indeed is talking about, or wants to see. And I think he’s starting to get a little bit more, you know, he’ll kind of tell us maybe some things he’s looking for,” Russo explained.

This matters more than people realize because good analysts don’t just react to what producers show them – they help shape what gets shown. If Brady can communicate what he wants to highlight before it happens, the broadcast becomes more cohesive instead of feeling like random observations.

Russo and Zyontz sound genuinely optimistic about Year 2, which is notable because they work with Brady every week and see things fans don’t. They’re not going to sugarcoat problems on a podcast, as their jobs depend on the broadcast being good.

Brady’s first season was always going to be a learning experience. We at Awful Announcing were particularly harsh, calling him unfit for broadcasting after struggling with timing and cadence issues. That said, he did improve as the season went on, particularly during the playoffs.

The real test was always going to be whether Brady could adapt. Players who struggle to adjust usually don’t last long in broadcasting, regardless of their playing credentials. But Brady’s track record suggests he knows how to fix problems when he identifies them.

“I just think that he’s a lot more comfortable as a broadcaster,” Zyontz said. “And again, we’ve only done one game.”

If the producers are right about Brady paring down his preparation and getting better at finishing thoughts, Year 2 could be significantly better. The knowledge was always there; it was just a matter of learning how to package it for television.

Brady’s $375 million contract means Fox needs him to succeed, and based on what his producers are saying, he’s putting in the work to get there. Whether that translates to better broadcasts remains to be seen, but at least Brady seems to understand what needs fixing.

The guy who spent two decades perfecting his craft on the field is applying the same approach to broadcasting. If Zyontz and Russo are right, that might finally be paying off.