Subscribe
Follow Us
Drew Bledsoe's career will forever be tied, in some ways, to Tom Brady's. Bledsoe was the New England Patriots' starting quarterback when Brady was drafted with the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, and less than 18 months later, Brady replaced an injured Bledsoe and never relinquished the starter position ever again.
The pair's playing days are over — Bledsoe retired in 2007, while Brady played well into his 40s before retiring in 2023 — but Brady is ready to embark on his next career: broadcasting. Before hanging up his cleats, Brady signed a reported 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox Sports to become the top color commentator for ‘NFL on FOX' broadcasts.
Since Brady has never done the job before, there has been considerable doubt and anticipation leading up to Brady's debut this season, but Bledsoe, who spent two seasons as Brady's teammate, said he believes Brady will succeed.
Drew Bledsoe on Tom Brady as a broadcaster: "I know that Tommy will work it to death. I will get kind of tired of his squeaky ass voice, but I know he'll do a great job calling the games." https://t.co/iiMaZ6xJWy pic.twitter.com/qqhj0L6adQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 21, 2024
“[The thing] they miss when they talk about broadcasters and whether they succeed or fail, it's the guys that do the work that are great at it. And it's really that simple,” Bledsoe said. “You look at [Troy] Aikman, you look at [Tony] Romo… Everyone looks at Romo like he's predicting the future. ‘Oh, how did he predict that play, right?' Well, he went to practice, he saw what they ran from that formation in practice, and that's what they did, right? So I know that Tommy will work it to death. I will get kind of tired of his squeaky ass voice, but I know he'll do a great job calling the games.”
Brady, who played 20 seasons with the Patriots before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the final three years of his career, is set to make his NFL broadcasting debut this season. While the legendary quarterback took a practice rep, so to speak, with his broadcast partner, play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt, during the New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers preseason game, Brady will call his first nationally televised NFL game on Sept. 8 when the Dallas Cowboys visit the Cleveland Browns for each team's season opener.
