“If he isn’t good in that booth, he will become a joke to everybody.”

Tom Brady during Netflix roast

As Tom Brady prepares for his NFL on Fox debut, he isn’t just attempting to become a great broadcaster; he’s trying to avoid being labeled a joke.

The NFL season kicks off this week, and so will Brady’s much-anticipated broadcasting career as he’s slated to call the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns game alongside Kevin Burkhardt Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET for Fox. And with pressure undoubtedly on Brady to fulfill his $375 million contract with Fox, WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti told co-host Boomer Esiason that the seven-time Super Bowl champion has to be great to avoid becoming a joke.

“Tom Brady, the most accomplished player – him and Michael Jordan – of my lifetime, he’s got it all. Great looking, businesses, aging backwards,” Giannotti said. “All of this that Tom Brady has ever done, Hall of Famer, greatest to ever do it at the hardest position, most important position. If he isn’t good in that booth, he will become a joke to everybody. I’m just telling you, we’ve seen it before. It doesn’t matter what you were in the past; if you aren’t good in the booth, they will roast your ass.”

Esiason seemed unfazed, crediting Brady for going into the booth, confidently stating, “He’s going to be good; he’s going to be fine.”

Fox tabbed Brady as Troy Aikman’s eventual successor as their lead NFL analyst more than two years ago. And after Brady took a gap year to prepare for his Fox debut before officially joining Burkhardt in their top booth, the seven-time Super Bowl champion better be good. Because Giannotti is right, if Brady isn’t good, his critics will be salivating at the opportunity to tear him and his $375 million contract down.

There is a precedent for athletes struggling to transition to the broadcast booth; see Drew Brees and Jason Witten. But it’s really hard to believe there’s any chance of Brady falling into that category. Brady does not need to be a broadcaster. If his year of preparation and various rehearsals with Burkhardt weren’t going well, he would have tapped out by now.

In fact, a lot of people expected Brady to tap out before Sunday over the course of the last two and a half years. But it didn’t happen. Brady is going to be a broadcaster. He might not become the best NFL analyst ever, but if there was any concern about that he might be a joke, Brady would have pulled the plug months ago.