Tom Brady’s presence at SoFi Stadium on Sunday sparked an internet frenzy following a slip of the fingertips.
Before the Rams’ wild 13-12 preseason win over the Cowboys, the seven-time Super Bowl champion was captured walking on the field in a suit, with the NFL’s social media accounts accidentally sharing he was readying for his broadcasting debut, Awful Announcing reported Sunday.
Brady — who signed a monster 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox in 2022 to become their lead NFL analyst — was simply at the venue for a practice run with the network’s top team, according to the Cowboys’ official website, with his actual broadcasting debut just weeks away in September.
The game did not air on Fox. The Rams preseason broadcast was simulcast on the NFL Network.
As one user called out the error, others joked about Brady, 47, potentially having the itch to come out of retirement for a third time.
“I know he’s dying to throw on a uniform and play,” one Instagram user remarked.
“Ok, its enough for me. My boy wants to play, he’s bored,” another remarked.
Brady first called it a career in early 2022 before walking back on that vow 40 days later and playing the 2022-23 season with the Buccaneers.
He confirmed his retirement in February 2023 after 23 prolific seasons, 20 spent with the Patriots and the final three with the Buccaneers.
After a gap year between the field and booth, Brady will now be teamed with Kevin Burkhardt.
The network’s top play-by-play caller spent the past two seasons working alongside former NFL tight end Greg Olsen, now on Fox’s No. 2 squad.
“I don’t want to let the people at Fox here down and I don’t want to let the great NFL fans down either,” Brady said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” in June of his transition into broadcasting.
The future Hall of Famer added his focus is on preparedness and giving his new team the best chance to succeed.
“I think for me, so much is going to come down to the preparation. Did I feel like I was prepared? Did I feel like our crew was prepared? Did I give them my best over the course of the week so that we could give ourselves the best opportunity to be successful for the fans?” Brady said.
“Really, the game is the show. We’re there to add our take and analysis on it. But it’s also, did we feel like we added to the broadcast? From my standpoint, I’m going to work as hard as I can at the process of it to make sure that I do deliver.”
Brady, who was showered with boos in June during his on-camera UFL appearance, will make his NFL broadcasting debut on Sept. 8 when the Cowboys visit the Browns in Cleveland.
