As we approach Super Bowl LIX on Sunday between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, much of the discussion in the lead up to the big game has been around how well Tom Brady will do in his biggest assignment to date for Fox.
While Brady has undoubtedly had his critics and naysayers throughout his first season in the Fox booth, he has also had plenty of encouragement from some of his peers who preceded him in the sports media landscape including Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman.
On top of those questioning his abilities, others have pondered whether Brady’s role in the Fox booth is potentially a conflict of interest given his role as a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. After all, he is going to be calling a game involving the Chiefs, an AFC West rival of the Raiders.
Despite his role with the Raiders, Patrick Mahomes doesn’t seem to find anything wrong with Brady calling Super Bowl LIX alongside Kevin Burkhardt. In fact, he outlined in an interview with Peter Schrager on Monday night how he is “excited” by Brady’s presence in the booth, as Brady has been someone who has given Mahomes valuable advice over the course of his career.
“I have so much respect for Tom, and he’s been someone that’s given me so much advice in my career,” Mahomes told Schrager, which was transcribed by Ryan Gaydos of Fox News. “So, it’ll be really cool, and I’m sure he’ll break it down, and it’ll be a great game, and I’m excited for the fans to see it.”
On paper, Brady is the perfect person to be on the call of the game given his status as one of the best quarterbacks in the history of football who has continuously risen to the occasion time and time again in past Super Bowls.
His tenure with the New England Patriots also most closely resembles what we are currently seeing with the Kansas City Chiefs, who are approaching a chance at making history by winning a third straight Super Bowl championship. That’s maybe especially true when it comes to the fan fatigue over the Chiefs success that we are currently seeing.
Brady’s expertise of the X’s and O’s has never been in question. What questions do remain about are whether Brady has a good enough grasp of some of the nuanced elements of broadcasting that come with time to translate his knowledge of the sport in a way that fans can take in.
Only time will tell how well Brady is perceived on Sunday. But Brady will likely benefit from the decision from the NFL to temporarily lift their restrictions placed on him for the Super Bowl, permitting him to attend pre-production meetings with both the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles ahead of the big game.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.