As Tom Brady prepares for what will be by far his most-watched broadcast yet Thanksgiving Day, Armand Broady examines whether the restrictions placed on the first-year NFL analyst — and partial team owner — are really as minor a problem as has been portrayed.
The NFL reportedly is considering additional restrictions to Fox lead analyst and minority Las Vegas Raiders owner Tom Brady after his interview with Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes that aired on Fox NFL Sunday on October 20.
The initial set of restrictions, announced back in August before Brady’s bid to become a part owner was approved, restricted the seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady from attending in-person or online broadcast production meetings and access to team facilities, players or coaches. Many, including Fox executives, saw these “Brady Rules” as mild inconveniences but not severe encumbrances to his ability to do his TV job successfully. The argument was Brady’s competitive spirit, vast football knowledge and quick judgment would overcome these league-imposed nuisances.
That assessment disregards the expansive role of an NFL game analyst. One might recall Tony Romo’s Nostradamus-like play predictions during the 2018 AFC Championship Game, or any time Troy Aikman has criticized a bad call, but predicting plays and challenging officials are merely two elements of a TV analyst’s job.
The role of the analyst is far different on TV than it is on radio. On radio, the analyst yields to the play-by-play announcer, who is responsible for informing viewers of every aspect of the game. That includes the score, the time, the playmakers, the atmosphere, the weather, the stadium, etc. On TV, the dynamic changes drastically. Because viewers can see the action, the play-by-play announcer describes the action in sentence fragments and captions, while working with the analyst to carry a host of conversations and execute production elements throughout the broadcast.
In a 2024 NFL.com column by Judy Battista, CBS’ Tiki Barber explained his role as an analyst, including the intense preparation during the week.
“When I was a player, Monday would come, and I’d be preparing for Sunday’s game,” Barber told Battista. “Grinding on tape and on the game plan. As an analyst, you have to do the same thing; it’s almost harder. It’s both teams, it’s all components of both teams. Then you’re looking for public interest stories — what’s his nickname? What’s his story? It’s a lot of work.”
Broadcast production meetings can help analysts learn those stories. The goal is not just to narrate replays or tell us why we saw what we just saw. Play-by-play announcers tee-up analysts with leading comments, giving their partners room to build on a thought. The framework for many of those conversations is developed through meetings with coaches and players.
In a 2019 article for The Los Angeles Times, columnist Sam Farmer gave the story behind one of the most iconic plays in NFL history, the Saints’ onside kick to open the second half of Super Bowl XLIV. Then-Saints head coach Sean Payton shared his intentions with CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in a production meeting prior to the game.
Nantz and Simms did not divulge this news beforehand, but having the knowledge of a coach’s strategy helps color how the broadcasters view and convey the game’s storylines, allowing the announcers to guide the viewer more adroitly.
Could play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt or sideline reporters Tom Rinaldi and Erin Andrews just tell Brady what happens in these meetings? Of course. But Brady’s absence robs him of the opportunity to build trust with coaches and players, process their responses for himself and ask follow-up questions.
During a three-hour NFL contest, there is an average of about 15-20 minutes of actual gameplay. The broadcast team needs something to talk about between plays. Anecdotes picked up during production meetings not only fill time, they humanize the participants and add context to what is happening on the field.
Statistics and film study are significant parts of the preparation, but production meetings do something no full-screen graphic can do — give an analyst content based on direct conversations with the key figures in the contest.
As one broadcaster put it, calling an NFL game is like a three-hour open book test. Sometimes, the story can be told through a stat or through game film. Because sports are so unpredictable, just one meeting with a player or coach can lead to a handful of useful nuggets that enhance the broadcast.
