Tom Brady received his fair share of criticism during his debut season as an NFL analyst for Fox, but ex-teammate and close friend Rob Gronkowski has leapt to his defense.

Brady, who served as Fox’s No. 1 game analyst after inking a reported 10-year, $375million deal with the network, stumbled through several gaffes, such as misidentifying players at times and even calling Bills quarterback Josh Allen a ‘spaz.’ 

However, the seven-time Super Bowl winner managed to win some viewers over as the season wore on, and his former Patriots teammate (and current Fox colleague) Gronkowski said he’s ‘so proud’ of the ‘excellent job’ Brady is doing.

‘He has definitely improved as well since his first couple games, which is understandable,’ Gronkowski told On3.com ahead of the Super Bowl for a newly-published piece. ‘I mean, it’s such a tough job to do; there’s so much pressure on you. You never called a game ever, for that long in your life, to be up in that booth and break down plays like that.

‘But you get better as you go on, and that’s all… I expect nothing less from Tom Brady as well, to get better because he loves to practice good habits, he loves to get better, he’ll do anything it takes to get better. And just to see his improvement from week one to where he is in the playoffs now is just tremendous, didn’t expect anything less. And he’s done such a great job in the playoffs; it’s like he’s a veteran now.’

Following some early-season struggles, Brady did show some improvement in the playoffs, namely in the Eagles’ win over the Commanders in the NFC Championship.

Tom Brady’s ex-teammate, Rob Gronkowski, has defended his broadcasting work

Tom Brady got mixed reviews for his first season as an NFL broadcaster with Fox

Gronkowski also works on Fox as a panel member of the channel’s studio show

During that broadcast, he received widespread acclaim as he provided his interesting postseason perspective on the emotions of the Philadelphia players reaching the championship game, and and cracking a joke at his own expense about losing to Philly in Super Bowl LII.

However, the icon’s simultaneous roles as a broadcaster and minority owner of the Raiders has proved to be a contentious issue among fans and media alike.

Due to his role as an owner, Brady is barred from attending practices of other teams or attending pre-game production meetings (as others in his role commonly do), ESPN’s Seth Wickersham previously reported. 

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He is also prohibited from publicly criticizing referees or other teams.

Nonetheless, Brady reportedly was part of the Raiders’ search for a new head coach and has a significant voice within the organization.

Some believe that Brady should have to choose between being an owner or broadcaster, but Gronkowski has previously defended his right to do both.

‘He’s the best to ever play the game. He deserves to have ownership in the team. He deserves to be able to commentate on games at the same time as well,’ he told Mail Sport during Super Bowl week.

‘The restrictions on him – not being able to go to practice and the facilities is totally understandable. That’s fair.

‘But anything else? There should be no problem with it. And there should be no criticism. He’s doing an excellent job being able to handle both. And that’s Tom Brady. He won’t put anything on his plate that he couldn’t handle.’