Tom Brady’s roast might’ve been a pleasure for our eyes, but broadcaster Chris Colinsworth was not a fan. As he discussed Brady’s impending sportscasting career with Kay Adams on her podcast ‘Up & Adams,’ he was pretty disapproving of Brady’s willingness to be the subject of a roast.
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Collinsworth mentioned that Brady did call him for advice on successfully transitioning from playing on the field to dissecting the game from the broadcast booth. However, he wished the NFL GOAT would’ve called him before doing the roast as well. Making his disapproval quite apparent he said,
“He should ask me about the roast. I’d have said stay away from it. What are you doing, man? What is that all about? I can only watch that in like 30-minute segments. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, he got bombarded.’”
Even Tom Brady regretted doing the Netflix-streamed roast he co-produced, as he admitted during his May 2024 appearance on ‘The Pivot’ podcast. The three-time NFL Most Valuable Player felt remorse because of the roast’s effect on his three children, especially the jokes directed at their mother and his ex-wife, Gisele Bundchen.
Conversely, Collinsworth is one of Brady’s best resource persons regarding the successful transition from the huddle to the microphone. After playing seven NFL seasons, Collinsworth started broadcasting with a Cincinnati-based radio station. From there, he worked for HBO and now for NBC Sports. A 17-time Sports Emmy Award winner, Collinsworth was a Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee in 2023. So, it’s not surprising that he would seek advice from the veteran sportscaster.
Cris Collinsworth’s Broadcast Advice to Tom Brady
Collinsworth does not doubt that Brady will be a great NFL analyst. After all, his focus and mental preparation during his playing days helped him become the game’s greatest winner. It’s just a matter of him translating his thoughts into quick analysis between snaps. However, if Brady wants to say a thousand opinions but can’t select one, Collinsworth offers a fantastic nugget of wisdom:
“He’s studying hard, and he’s working on it. He’s done a thousand different practice games, and I was like, ‘Tom, just be you. People know who you are. Just be you. Go on there and talk about football and have some fun.’ He’ll be great.”
Collinsworth mentioned tennis superstar John McEnroe as a sportscaster Tom Brady can model his style after. The seven-time Grand Slam men’s singles winner wasn’t shy about voicing his opinion, even if it was unpopular or confrontational.
Collinsworth added that Brady should not be afraid to call out players who performed poorly and show praise to those who deserve it.
Brady will replace Greg Olsen as the lead color commentator for Fox Sports’ NFL broadcasts. He will likely work with NFL on Fox play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt and sideline reporter Erin Andrews.
