Tom Brady nearly got into a fight with Mike Pereira during his first meeting with him in the Fox Sports booth on Sunday.
Pereira turned his head but missed the former quarterback, who was making his debut as Fox's lead NFL commentator alongside Kevin Burkhart ahead of the Cowboys-Browns game, trying to shake his hand.
“Look, it's Mike Pereira!” Burkhart said, pointing in his direction.
Brady, who was standing in the middle of the pair, looked at Pereira and raised his fist in greeting, but Pereira had already turned away and did not notice.
“Nice to meet you, buddy,” Brady said. “Yeah, don't leave me alone.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champion dodged it and laughed, eventually prompting Pereira to bump his fist back at him.
“Let's go!” Brady said.
“It's so good to be with you all again,” Pereira added.
Pereira will miss the 2023 season after needing back surgery.
“About six months ago I posted that I would be taking a year off from Fox due to back surgery.” Pereira said in March.
“Five months ago I had my spine fused at seven levels from T11 to S1. The surgery took eight and a half hours! During my recovery, the doctor asked me what my goals were. I had two answers. The first was to walk again. The second was to get back to work.”
Brady performed well in his highly anticipated debut, more than two years after the future Hall of Famer signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox Sports.
Brady was measured in his interactions and conversations with Burkhart, exuding warmth and confidence during Dallas' 33-17 win over Cleveland.
