Behind the Scenes with FOX’s NFL crew: Tom Brady (almost) loses his voice

By Richie Zyontz
FOX NFL Lead Producer

Editor’s Note: Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as the lead producer. He has more than 40 years of experience covering the league and has produced seven Super Bowls. Throughout the 2024 NFL season, he is providing an inside look as FOX’s new No. 1 NFL team, including NFL legend Tom Brady, makes its journey toward Super Bowl LIX. Read more behind-the-scenes stories from Richie Zyontz here.

In 1966, the esteemed author Gay Talese penned his seminal profile of Frank Sinatra for Esquire Magazine titled, “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold.”

After Sunday’s barn burner of a game between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams, I’ve got a sequel in mind called “Tom Brady Lost His Voice.”

But first things first.

Our crew has had the misfortune of mostly witnessing one-sided games. While the NFL can boast of more competitive games than ever before, that wave of excitement had yet to come knocking at our door. Now, thanks to the Herculean performances of quarterbacks Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford, we can all find something else to moan about. Finally, we finally had a signature game to call as the Rams outlasted Buffalo, 44-42, in an instant classic.

The QB Toolbox

At our Saturday evening production meeting, our signal-caller Tom Brady was waxing poetic about the virtues of Allen and Stafford, the respective quarterbacks for the Bills and Rams.

In Tom’s view, there are only a handful of quarterbacks who possess what he calls “the complete toolbox” — in other words, someone with the wherewithal to actually run an offense and not simply run plays.

Needless to say, Brady is a tough audience when it comes to evaluating QB play. Sort of like Moe Howard sitting in judgment of slapstick comedy. To date, he has been brutally honest when a QB’s performance has not passed muster. Sunday was different.

[Related: More from Tom Brady | More from Richie Zyontz]

QBs In Control

Our camera and audio crews captured the essence of Brady’s premise.

There were tight shots of the QBs’ eyes looking off receivers and changing the plays at the line of scrimmage. Viewers could hear the decisive leadership of each quarterback as they barked out the calls and directed their offenses.

But Stafford and Allen were not the only QBs who were on their games. One of the areas we discussed with Tom from Day 1 was for him to really take the reins of each broadcast at the line of scrimmage. And he did, adding context and insight to the sounds we were hearing.

The game produced so many memorable images, including Puka Nacua making a near impossible toe tap catch along the sideline — a feat that helped earn him the LFG Player of the Game award from Brady. 

There were also Cooper Kupp’s acrobatic touchdown grab, and the many expressive faces of Sean McVay, not to mention the brilliance of Josh Allen doing Josh Allen things, like accounting for six touchdowns and 60 fantasy points. It was a “wow” kind of day, with many “wow” calls from Kevin Burkhardt.

Brady’s Day Part I …

But let’s back up.

With our game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles being only a few miles from our FOX studios, Brady was invited to appear on our pregame show. That meant that his day would start early — as would his voice.

Brady’s appearance on the show was tremendous, as the show’s producer Bill Richards put him in a great position to succeed.

Combining football talk with the usual fun banter among cast mates, Brady truly felt welcomed and had a blast.

It’s no wonder that FOX NFL Sunday has dominated its space for 30 years. It’s truly a family atmosphere, and for Brady, being flanked by ex-teammates Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman made it even more so.

Throat Lozenge Please …

Brady’s voice started getting a bit raspy about midway through the game. As the game maintained its frenzied pace, the excitement level was evident both in Burkhardt’s calls and Brady’s analysis.

And to those who questioned Tom’s ability to be critical, he rightfully and forcefully slammed Buffalo’s playcalling and time management on their final drive.  A very strong moment.

Losing your voice is the announcer’s worst nightmare. In Tom’s case, it never quite reached emergency level, but it kept our support crew in the booth busy providing hot tea and throat lozenges. But Brady was so thoroughly enjoying calling a terrific game, that I don’t think he was fazed one bit. And neither were we. But we might want to add honey to our weekly shopping list.

So, with our streak of bad games thankfully behind us, our crew heads to the Keystone State for a late Sunday afternoon collision between heavyweights as the hometown Philadelphia Eagles (11-2) take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3). Should be sensational!

And if you haven’t read Gay Talese’s famous profile of Sinatra, you should.

Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as lead producer. He boasts more than 40 years of experience covering the NFL.

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