Al Michaels believes critics of Tom Brady are just jealous of him

Amazon Prime Video NFL announcer Al Michaels has faced his fair share of backlash as his career goes on, and the legendary broadcaster mounted a strong defense of Fox’s Tom Brady in the face of criticism toward the seven-time Super Bowl Champion and rookie game analyst.

Michaels called four of Brady’s Super Bowl appearances and covered the GOAT quarterback’s entire career. The longtime broadcaster also knows a thing or two about what makes a great color commentator. He believes Brady is on the right path.

Anyone who thinks differently, Michaels argued in a recent appearance on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast, is just jealous.

“In terms of Tom, jealousy is a very potent human emotion. And there are a lot of people who wanted to see Tom fail, because Tom has everything,” Michaels said.

“He’s got the resume in football, he lives a life that a lot of people would like to live. So he’s going to take a lot of heat. My personal opinion, and I don’t really weigh in on announcers a lot, I think he’s done a very good job. And I think he’s gotten better and better, and I very much enjoy listening to him. So I hear, ‘Brady this, Brady that,’ but I’m telling you … he’s working terrifically well with Kevin Burkhardt, I think they make a really good combination. And I’m a fan. I think Tom’s done yeoman’s work this year.”

Brady famously blew the previous top NFL analyst’s salary (Tony Romo at CBS) out of the water when he inked a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox in 2022.

Then, Brady took more than two years before finally calling his first NFL game for the network following two retirements from football. At Fox, Brady replaced Emmy winner Greg Olsen, who called a Super Bowl in 2023 for the network while Brady was in waiting.

Despite his unparalleled pedigree in the league, Brady doesn’t have a clear handle yet on the rhythms of broadcasting or what his approach will be to talking football from the booth. At the same time, Brady was hit with restrictions from the NFL after his purchase of a stake in the Las Vegas Raiders was approved in October.

The inconsistency as a broadcaster, coupled with the lengths Fox went to in acquiring him, have left a sour taste in some fans and analysts’ mouths watching Brady call games this season.

Michaels waved off all of it, instead accusing any Brady critics of jealousy.

“Knowing Tom … he is going to work his a** off, and he has,” Michaels explained. “And you can tell he has, despite the fact that he’s sort of limited because he can’t go to certain meetings … but that doesn’t mean he is not going to be as prepared as anybody. He knows enough ways to figure out what’s going on. So I’ll just say this, whatever [the criticism] is, I think it’s borne out of jealousy more than anything else.”

Throughout his time calling Thursday Night Football for Prime Video, football fans have knocked Michaels for lacking enthusiasm. While Michaels still brings it for biggest moments in a given week (and hopefully will for Amazon’s first NFL playoff game during Wild Card weekend), he knows what it’s like to be turned on by fans.

Given that Michaels reportedly earns an eight-figure annual salary from Amazon to call TNF, perhaps he can also relate to the feeling that his paycheck is leading to more negativity about him.