Tom Brady won seven Super Bowls as a player, and the FOX pundit will be covering Sunday’s showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles
Tom Brady will provide commentary at Super Bowl LIX (Image: Getty Images)
Tom Brady said he’ll be “very happy” for the Kansas City Chiefs should they beat the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LIX. The 47-year-old former quarterback, now turned commentator, knows the Super Bowl stage well, having clinched seven titles himself with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – earning MVP honours in five of those victories.
Yet, this Sunday at Caesar’s Superdome, Brady will be analysing the game from the sidelines for FOX, not playing on the field, as the Chiefs aim to claim their third consecutive Super Bowl against the Eagles. Despite his new role requiring impartiality, Brady shared that a Chiefs win would please him, given their remarkable achievements.
On the Lets Go! podcast, Brady said: “Well, I’m broadcasting the game, so I don’t really have a rooting interest per se. The only thing I root for in these situations are great games. I will say if the Chiefs win, I will be very happy for them. I mean, what they’ve achieved is unmatched.”
Reflecting on his own experiences, he noted the similarities with his tenure at the Patriots. He added: “People always hated on us for so many years. And I didn’t understand it because all I did was like, we try to do things the right way, we try to go out there and compete for our job and win.
“And there’s an excellence that I appreciate about people who are doing other things at really high levels because you understand the commitment that it takes for them to do what they’re doing. And to be in this country and to not cheer for excellence is beyond me.”
As per The Mirror US, Brady has faced several NFL restrictions aimed at ensuring a level playing field during his debut season as a commentator on the FOX NFL Sunday show – due to his minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. The iconic former Patriots quarterback hasn’t been able to set foot in meetings, use practice facilities from other teams, fraternise with coaches or players, nor share any public criticism of game officials or rival teams this season.
Brady will make his Super Bowl commentary debut on Sunday (Image: Getty Images)
Now, with the Raiders out of the Super Bowl picture, Brady is seeing these constraints loosen for the big event. According to The Athletic, Brady will have clearance to attend Chiefs production meetings before the game.
Clarifying why an exception has been made ahead of the chase for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said: “When [Brady] was approved as an owner of the Raiders, there were a lot of discussions internally [among owners] and that ended up being the recommendation of the league office, that it didn’t make sense to have him in the production meetings.
“That’s where that rule came from. Since he’s doing the game this week, we have no issue with him being in our production meetings. He’ll have the access that any broadcaster would have.”