The Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski era with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was short, but it was also one of the more rewarding times for the franchise along with its fans. It started with Brady signing with the Bucs after winning six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots before convincing his old pal in New England and favorite target Rob Gronkowski to come out of retirement and rejoin forces in Tampa.
From there the two never looked back and each helped bring the Buccaneers their second-ever Lombardi Trophy.
Both Brady and Gronk have moved on from their playing days despite the ever-often rumor of either potentially returning the game. Gronk has gone on to become a media personality, letting his charisma and unique personality gleam over the airways while Brady has his hands in a multitude of different ventures, including just finishing up his first year as a broadcaster for FOX Sports while also recently becoming a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski celebrate after beating the Kansas City Chiefs. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
As mentioned, Brady has just finished up his first full year as a broadcaster and was on the call for the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs. However, before the Super Bowl got kicked off, Gronk sat down for an interview with On3 where he gave his thoughts on his former teammate’s job thus far in the booth.
“He’s doing an excellent job and I’m so proud of him,” Gronkowski said. “He has definitely improved as well since his first couple games, which is understandable. I mean, it’s such a tough job to do, there’s so much pressure on you. You never called a game ever, for that long in your life, to be up in that booth and break down plays like that.”
Starting a new gig no matter the profession comes with a learning curve, and that doesn’t exclude the greatest quarterback of all time. Brady struggled early in the booth but eventually found it more comfortable as the season wore on. Despite improving throughout the year, Brady still had moments, especially when it came to transitioning between his commentary, commercial breaks, and handing it off to his partner Kevin Burkhardt.
With struggles come opportunities, and Brady will have plenty of opportunities to show that he is learning and applying his skills to his newfound way of staying close and focused on the game outside of his ownership. Gronk continued in his interview by acknowledging that he expects and knows that Brady will do what it takes to improve and grow into a great broadcaster.
“But you get better as you go on, and that’s all… I expect nothing less from Tom Brady as well, to get better, because he loves to practice good habits, he loves to get better, he’ll do anything it takes to get better,” Gronkowski said. “And just to see his improvement from week one to where he is in the playoffs now, is just tremendous, didn’t expect anything less. And he’s doing such a great job in the playoffs, it’s like he’s a veteran now.”
