‘Don’t leave me hanging,’ Tom Brady urges Fox NFL colleague after awkward broadcast booth interaction on debut

TOM Brady has gone viral just moments into his new role as a broadcaster for Fox Sports.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner took up his $375 million announcing role with the network on Sunday night.

NFL on FOX

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NFL on FOX

Brady joined Kevin Burkhardt and Mike Peirera to call the Dallas Cowboys impressive 33-17 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Before the broadcast, Burkhardt introduced the New England Patriots legend to viewers from the Fox booth.

Brady has replaced former NFL tight end Greg Olsen in the Fox team for the new season.

He appeared eager to make a good impression on day one, attempting to greet rules analyst Peirera with a fist bump.

Brady held out his hand, only for Peirera to awkwardly continue looking at his monitor and accidentally ignore the NFL GOAT.

“Don’t leave me hanging,” a desperate Brady begged, styling out the moment as Peirera finally noticed his outstretched hand.

The toe-curling exchange was caught live on Fox cameras, with fans quick to share the clip on social media.

“Brady remains the most awkward human being ever,” declared one fan on X in response to the footage , which has been viewed over 620,000 times.

“Brady’s voice is distracting, his analysis banal & obvious. And his delivery is often hurried & comes out staccato,” said another.

“Don’t disrespect the GOAT. He’s doing great for his first game,” countered a third.

“No matter how many posts there are picking apart everything Brady does, Greg Olsen will never be a bigger star than him. TV networks will always go with the bigger star,” commented a fourth.

“It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good. Either I mean first game in the booth he’ll probably improve as the season goes,” predicted a fifth.

Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox in the summer of 2022.

He returned to play one final season in the NFL before retiring “for good” in February last year.

'That's what makes him so great'

New England Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski says Tom Brady's greatness is down to consistency.

Brady continued playing until he was 45, leaving many people asking what was the secret to his longevity – and his longtime friend has the answer.

“You really don’t see that anymore in this generation, he really practices what he preaches,” Gronk told former teammate Julian Edelman, 38, on the Games with Names podcast.

“There are no and, ifs, or buts about Tom Brady being Tom Brady.

“What he puts out there, what he preaches, he practices it.

“There’s no doubt about it. There are a lot of people out there on social media, or at a lecture, they’re reminiscing about, ‘This is what you gotta do to be great, this is what you gotta do to be successful.’

“Well Tom Brady does what he says on a daily basis.

“He takes care of his body, he takes care of his mind, he competes, and that’s what makes him so great.”

Brady has no broadcast experience and admitted earlier this year he was going “out of his comfort zone.”

ESPN announcer Troy Aikman opened up about the task faced by Brady last week, as he looks to emulate fellow NFL quarterback Tony Romo.

“Tom comes into this like Tony Romo as far as going right from the field to the booth,” Aikman told the New York Times .

“On the one hand, he had the one year off to where he was really able to lock in and watch games and listen to the broadcasters.

“I know he’s had practice games, but it’s not the way it was done prior to Tony…

“When you’re on live television and you’re kind of learning how to do the craft, you’re always up against the clock.

“You never really have as much time as you hope, and you say things that sometimes make no sense.

“I would be in the booth going, ‘Oh my gosh, that was like the dumbest comment ever.’”