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Tom Brady explains the best way to throw a football in the wind during viral moment
Fox broadcaster Tom Brady. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Tom Brady explains the best way to throw a football in the wind during viral moment

By Conor Killmurray  |  Last updated Jan 12, 2026 9:03 AM ET

On Sunday, Tom Brady was in the booth for the wild-card game between the San Franscisio 49ers against the Philadelphia Eagles, and he took a moment to eschew the usual commentator platitudes for some real expert insight. 

With the wind howling at Lincoln Financial Field, the ongoing story was quarterback Jalen Hurts' inability to hit the deep shot because of the wind. Brady continued to point out that some of the throws Hurts had would've been fine had the wind not been gusting over 30 MPH. 

Play-by-play commentator Kevin Burkhardt asked Brady to explain how a quarterback should go about adjusting to throwing in the wind. Instead of a quick explanation over footage of players, the broadcast took the time to let Brady deliver a Football 101 lesson directly to viewers.

"What you see, and I talk about the point of the ball a lot, you see it from; I'll show it to you from this angle," Brady said as he turned the point of the football to the camera to better help with his analysis. "This is kind of like a neutral plane," Brady explained while holding the ball perpendicular to the camera, "and this is when the point is slightly down. When you're throwing into the wind, [the ball] has to be neutral. If the point of the ball is up, then any wind friction is going to push that ball up over the top."

"So, as a quarterback, you don't really like that U-shaped [grip] underneath, because naturally that's going to point the tip of the ball up," Brady explained. "You like more of a C or reverse C-shaped [grip], and that's how you kind of control the point of the ball, and then you can kind of just snap it off as you throw it. But in these windy conditions, you can't be underneath the ball; there's too much wind surface on the ball to knock it off its path."

Burkhardt, like most viewers at home, was stunned by the ease with which Brady explained how to throw in windy conditions. It's the kind of analysis Fox will pay Brady $375M for: high-level football knowledge boiled down to an understandable 40-second segment. 

Brady has always been at his best in the NFL playoffs; it's how he won 35 playoff games and seven Super Bowls. Now in his second career as a color commentator, he's starting to bring his best to the booth. 

Brady's growth as an announcer has been noticeable, especially as his chemistry with Burkhardt has developed through these past two seasons. Brady is uniquely positioned to provide insight that no other player-turned-commentator could. So, if there are more "lessons with Tom Brady" in the future, the more football fans will be rewarded with new knowledge on the game they love. 

Conor Killmurray

Conor Killmurray is a long-suffering fan of New York sports, particularly the Giants and Mets—a potent combination for heartbreak, if you ask him. He graduated from West Chester University with a degree in English and enjoys searching for the most interesting sports stories to write about.

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