“One day your 9-5 will become your side hustle”
Tom Brady…TB12, The Greatest QB of all time, and yes, too hydrated for sun burn…Has taken the side hustle (if you want to call it that) to a new extreme. No, I’m not talking about him selling 2000’s hip hop inspired graphic tees or personalized tumbler mugs on an Etsy page. No. Tom Brady has moved into the NFL ownership space, but will it be more than his minority stake indicates?
Before this NFL season started Tom Brady signed a massive Bryce Harper type deal with Fox Sports and inked a 10 year $375 million dollar contract to be the color commentator alongside Kevin Burkhardt on Fox’s A team America’s Game of the Week broadcast. Brady replaced Greg Olsen…who if you ask any Sunday ball watcher they will probably tell you he is the best in the biz right now…who was originally a part of that broadcast team. After a full regular season and now two playoff games under his belt, Brady’s broadcasting skills have been picked apart again and again this season. I guess when you’re great at one thing people think you’re great at everything. I am not as critical of Tommy as others. I think he’s doing an OK job and has gotten better as this season progressed. You’re never great at something in your first try.
But, the tribe has spoken. The people want Brady to choose.
Earlier this season Tom Brady was approved by other league owners and was allowed minority ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders. The future plans for Vegas sports seems big already having the Aces, Golden Knights and the Raiders the city is welcoming the A’s in the next few years and if I were to guess an NBA franchise soon too. The choice for Brady to want to go into business with Mark Davis and the crew seems clear. He wants to be a part of the city’s growing sports future. Brady had restrictions placed on him at the beginning of the year for calling games. Brady is not allowed to attend production meetings either virtually or in person and may not have access to team facilities, players or coaching personnel. Basically everything he needs to put together a well researched broadcast.
This made me ask the question. Has the side hustle reached its pinnacle? Is Tom Brady trying to be the GOAT of that too?
If you are someone like me you try to prioritize quality over quantity. Finding that one thing and working at it and mastering it is much more satisfying than trying to tackle multiple things at once. Do I (we) get caught up on the other side sometimes? The..‘I wake up at 4 am and stare at a picture of a Lamborghini because that’s out of my comfort zone. I really want a Ferrari instead”side Yes, of course and there is a lot to feel good about knowing that you did all you could and that you put in the work to succeed. But in our growing and what seems like our inescapable blob like internet hustle culture the message still seems to be the more you do the better you are and the better you will become.
Heading into the call of the NFC Divisional round game this past Saturday many people were wondering and were asking for Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady to address during the broadcast that Brady had been part of the interview process of Ben Johnson, Lions OC and Raiders head coaching candidate. And they did. With a small break in the action Burkhardt mentioned Brady’s side hustle (wink wink) and asked about the interview that was conducted. Tom kept it brief and said “Just been a great learning experience. What you realize is that the league is full of great potential. What I believe — the resumes, the accolades are all earned by what people do on the field. You earn your opportunities and you do your performance and let that all do the talking. Just as it should be and as I did when I was a player.”
I guess that counts for something. Brady never really mentioned Johnson’s name too much during the game. He was not overly critical of the Jameson Williams trick play call and was very excited about that crazy double-handoff-reverse- play-thing that was called.
Now, I know that most pro athletes are always looking toward the horizon knowing that their time being able to play a professional sport is limited. Most things in life are not guaranteed and having a long successful career in pro sports is a hard thing to do. Especially a career like Brady’s. Players are always hustling finding new ways to bring in revenue and have their name last long after they retire. We have already embarked on the player podcast journey and are firmly in the player “brand” era. These companies are giving away signature shoes faster than Michael Phelps in chlorinated water.
Is this conflict of interest going to become too much? Or are we all ok with Brady doing both because he’s Brady? Most people might not think so and might not really care if Brady does both. But there is a pure love for this sport that people have and I think there needs to be a decision made. As the NFL continues to pillage the villages of the NBA, MLB and NHL the sport is becoming bigger and hungrier. Like Barry Bonds in the 2000s and hopefully less weird. With more ways to watch and adding more games..an extra regular season game, the Black Friday game, and the two Netflix Christmas games this year.. fans are going to expect a certain level of analysis. A level that only a GOAT can provide. What are you even going to order at PF Changs when you go with Mark Davis?
Tom, stick to what you’re great at..dissecting defensive play calls, Identify the MIKE Linebacker, Give us the perspective of the QB at the line of scrimmage, Tell me why that corner needed safety help. I’ll even listen to another anecdote of the Pats dynasty if I have too.
You’re the GOAT for a reason, give us the GOAT analysis. Vegas sucks anyway.
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