Tom Brady’s offseason preparations are looking a little different these days.
The legendary NFL quarterback heads to paradise for preseason bonding with his new “NFL on Fox” teammates, including Carissa Thompson, who gave his social media followers a peek at his star-studded getaway on Monday I headed there by plane.
Thompson posted a large group photo on Instagram of herself, Brady, Erin Andrews, Rob Gronkowski, Michael Strahan and others with the caption, “There was no shortage of laughter or athleticism in this crew…Off the Grid.” We had a great time,” she captioned the photo.
Brady, who retired from the NFL last February after 23 seasons, is preparing to slide into the network’s top booth alongside Kevin Burkhardt, who called games the past two seasons along with former tight end Greg Olsen.
The visit comes nearly two years after Brady, 46, agreed to join Fox Sports as chief NFL analyst in a 10-year, $375 million contract.
Brady has expressed enthusiasm about his new venture, but he made headlines earlier this spring when he talked about a possible return to the NFL.
During an appearance on the Deep Cuts podcast, the seven-time Super Bowl champion was asked if he would “answer the call” if the starting quarterback went down with an injury at the end of the year.
Brady is “not against it,” but a potential minority stake with the Raiders (which still requires NFL approval) could be an obstacle.
“If I owned an NFL team, I don’t know if they would let me,” Brady said on the show.
“But I don’t know…I’m always in good shape and can always throw the ball. So if I participate a little bit, like MJ comes back, I don’t know if they’ll let me, but , I wouldn’t object to that.”
Brady has famously backed away from retirement before.
Just 40 days after declaring this was his career in February 2022, the five-time league MVP announced he would return for the 2022 season a month later.
Brady, a former sixth-round pick out of Michigan State, spent the first 20 years of his prolific career in New England, winning six Super Bowls with the Patriots.
He took his talents to Tampa Bay in 2020 and won his seventh Super Bowl in February 2021.
Brady will permanently retire his cleats after the 2022 season, his third with the Buccaneers.
With his broadcast debut looming, Brady revealed in January that he was practicing in the booth with Burkhardt.
“I’ve been to Fox Studios a few times and done quite a dry run with Kevin. He’s a great guy to work with. I’m so excited to be joining such a great team,” he said. He spoke on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“…I’m just going to go in there and do the best I can from my perspective.”
