Football fans have some good things to say about Tom Brady’s foray into the broadcast booth. The seven-time Super Bowl winner’s debut, made during the season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, was met with divided opinion — with the AP calling his participation “awkward” and some at X saying it was “absolutely awful.”

The National Football League stoked excitement for his appearance yesterday with a promo captioned, “Time to get back to work,” accompanied by an emoji of a curled bicep.

The spot opens with Brady watching a commentator say, “Tom Brady the announcer? That guy has everything in the world — why would you do that?” During the 45-second commercial, Brady dismisses versions of himself who try to discourage him from embarking on a new phase of his football career. But when confronted with a young Brady — who tells him, “One day you’re going to be the greatest there ever was” — Brady becomes determined to begin his journey as a commentator.

The new NFL analyst hasn’t been welcomed with open arms, but rather with something of a tackle. One user on X called out Fox Sports for spending a whopping $375 million on the talent, saying the network “should have listened to Tom Brady actually say words” before doing so.

“Finally something Tom Brady is fucking bad at,” said another.

Brady admitted he was still a “greenhorn” at his new job, and reporter Kevin Burkhardt joked that he spent more time doing his hair because he knew there would be more press photos from the broadcast booth.

“I do what they tell me. I understand that,” Brady said, according to AP. “I’m still a rookie here.”

Brady played more than 20 years in the NFL before retiring after the 2022 season as the most decorated player in league history. He subsequently signed a 10-year contract with Fox Sports to become the network’s lead football analyst but took time off last year amid mounting tension over whether he could transfer his existing skills off the field.

Below are some more reactions: