“Does Tom Own That?”: Set to Broadcast Super Bowl 60, Cris Collinsworth Worries How Can He Top Tom Brady’s $740,000 Watch

When Tom Brady signed a deal with Fox worth $350 million to be their top color commentator, they knew he’d be capping off his rookie broadcasting season in New Orleans for the Super Bowl. That’s a tall order for a freshman, but he got through it decent enough. He’s still not one of the top dogs like Cris Collinsworth, however, as the main talking point following his performance was not his insight, but rather his wrist candy.

Fox threw to Brady and play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt numerous times throughout the Philadelphia Eagles’ 40-22 shellacking of the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, and the thing that stood out (or sparkled) every time was his aggressively gold $740k Jacob and Co. watch. Collinsworth, who is set to call Super Bowl LX next year, thought maybe it was just a rental.

“Is this like the Academy Awards (the Oscars)? Where people give you stuff to wear, but you really don’t own it? Or is this like the man really owns this watch, and I’ve got a helluva long way to go before I call next year’s Super Bowl,” Collinsworth said on Up & Adams.

The former NFL wide receiver was visibly taken aback by the extravagance of the blinged-out timepiece when host Kay Adams showed it to him. He speculated that Brady might have worn it as part of a promotional deal with the watchmaker. However, given Brady’s $350 million deal with Fox, Collinsworth felt he needed to “get to the bottom” of the gold watch situation and ask Brady directly if he truly owned it.

“I mean seriously, does Tom own that? As soon as I get off this call I’m calling him. I’m gonna find out, I’m gonna get to the bottom of it. Because if that’s a freebie. Think about it, what was it 126 million people got a chance to watch that broadcast, you’re holding your microphone up, and you go, ‘why not? Somebody should give me one of those.’ I think it’s a great idea. (Laughs)”

When asked by Adams how he and NBC could one-up Brady’s resplendent watch next year, Collinsworth quipped that he could “wear a better hat” than the one he was wearing in the interview. As he knows all too well after over two decades in the booth, being a good color commentator is not about flash. It’s all about preparation and bravery.

Cris Collinsworth: Commentating is not a popularity contest

Collinsworth has been in the broadcasting game since the early 1990s, when he was just a reporter for HBO’s Inside the NFL. Since then, he has done it all. He’s covered NFL games for Fox, HBO, and NBC. He’s been a part of several Olympic Games broadcasts for NBC as well. He was also the color commentator for numerous Madden NFL video games.

As Collinsworth often says, color commentating is harder than it seems. It’s not just about going in there and firing off your hot takes and agendas. It’s a lot of preparation, and he makes sure to let all prospective commentators know it’s not all sunshine and roses in the booth before they go down that career path.

“I spend the first 10 minutes trying to talk them out of it — trying to tell them where the pain points are going to be. It’s going to be hard. It’s a lot more work than you imagine. Usually, I can talk people out of it, or at least scare them a little bit.”

Another crucial part of being a quality color commentator is your ability to say what you believe, regardless of repercussions. There’s a level of bravery you need to have. More often than not, half the people watching are going to hate what you’re saying. It’s not a popularity contest, as Collinsworth stressed.

“All of them call me when they get the job, and my question is: Do you like being popular? Because you will not be… If you really want to be popular — if that’s what you want to do — just understand you’re going to get picked apart.”

Brady hasn’t quite gotten to the level where he’s comfortable throwing caution to the wind to give a possibly unpopular take in the booth, as veterans like Collinsworth and Troy Aikman regularly do.

The important thing is that you stand by that unpopular take and back it up with sound analysis and insight. That all goes back to preparation. Collinsworth extolls preparation as the most important part of being a broadcaster. And that means more than studying stats. It means getting to know the people and the city itself where you’re broadcasting games.

“When I get to Pittsburgh, I talk to the person who drives me from the airport. I talk to the bellhop. What do they think about their team? They’ve been watching it for 50 years. They know every intimate detail. And on one week’s notice, we are expected to know more than those people that have been watching the team for 50 years.”

Tom Brady is not going to turn into Cris Collinsworth or Troy Aikman overnight. But, there was clearly an improvement from September to February. At least in 2025, he can take it easy come Super Bowl season, as Cris Collinsworth and Mike Tirico will be in the booth for NBC for Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.