The power of Tom Brady is something to behold and it was on full display this offseason. When he retired and then unretired this offseason, he wreaked havoc in many different ways.
Without him, not many people would like to see a Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad with Blaine Gabbert behind center, but with Brady, it is always must-see TV.
As you can imagine, piecing together an 18-week regular-season schedule can be quite grueling as the NFL not only needs to balance various other events at stadiums, but also maximize TV revenue by placing the best matchups in windows where fans are sure to tune in.
That said, the schedule-makers, who were already piecing together the 2022 regular season, had to essentially start from scratch when Tom Brady retired and then unretired.
“When Tom Brady retired, we were concerned about the strength of the NFC package because there were so many terrific Tampa Bay games we were looking at,” NFL broadcasting chief Howard Katz told Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.
Without Brady, the Bucs would have likely had a ton 1 p.m. games on Sunday afternoons. Once Brady made his about-face, it forced the league to make sure they had them in plenty of prime time games.
When the NFL unveils the schedule Thursday night, don’t be surprised if Brady and the Bucs are heavily featured.
