Super Bowl LIX: Tom Brady ‘excited’ to cover first Super Bowl as a broadcaster

Record seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady said he is “very excited” to commentate on his first NFL title game this Sunday following his debut season in the broadcast booth with Fox Sports.

The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans – live on Sky Sports NFL from 10pm ahead of kick-off from 11.30pm (featuring Brady’s commentary) – going in search of an historic third straight championship, with Patrick Mahomes eyeing a fourth overall at the age of 29.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday’s big game, Brady said his approach will be similar to his 10 Super Bowl appearances as a player, adding that he doesn’t believe Mahomes’ success tarnishes his own legacy.

“I’m very excited for what’s ahead,” Brady said. “It’s about ‘did we feel we approached the game the right way, and were we prepared?’

“Ultimately, it comes down to two things; was I confident in what I said, and did I enjoy myself? If those are ‘yes’, then we did a good job.”

While Brady’s Patriots fell short in their quest for three successive Super Bowls, he said he would be happy to watch Mahomes and the Chiefs become the first team in the Super Bowl era to pull off the ‘three-peat’.

A fourth Super Bowl win for Mahomes would also nudge him closer to Brady’s seven – a record that few thought could be reached when he retired.

“I love seeing other people achieve great things, and anything Patrick is doing, I don’t believe will ever detract from what I accomplished in my career,” Brady said.

“The reality is we all have our journeys. The comparisons are fun naturally for the media because it serves a different perspective and context that people can write and talk about. But as a competitor that I was, I never viewed it that way, and I still don’t today, even in the role that I am in now.”

Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox in May 2022 when still playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He retired after that season and decided in February 2023 to take a year off before moving into the booth.

Having come in for some criticism on social media, especially after his very first broadcast, Brady has grown into the role since.

“I’ve enjoyed the learning curve. I love the ability to take the viewer inside of just the way that I see things,” Brady said.

“In some ways, it’s very simple. In some ways, it’s very complicated. I feel as a crew, we’re all hitting our stride. We know each other better every week.

“Hopefully, this [the Super Bowl] is our best game yet.”

Broadcaster Kevin Burkhardt, who is calling his second Super Bowl, alongside Brady, said he has noticed his co-commentator improve as the season has progressed.

“I think there’s a reason that not everybody dives into this end of the pool, because it’s hard to be on TV for three and a half hours every week – and not to have an edit button and go back and hit the delete button,” Burkhardt said.

“I think the goal the whole way along was for us as a team to grow and get better as the year goes on. I think with anybody new, and I’ve worked with enough new partners over the years, it takes time to build chemistry, whether they’re a TV veteran or not, and I think with this, it’s no different.

“I’m just proud of where we are now.”

The Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday February 9, live on Sky Sports NFL and Main Event from 10pm ahead of kick-off at 11.30pm; 17-time Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar headlines the half-time show