During Fox’s broadcast of Sunday’s Packers-Patriots game, Tom Brady got a surprise from his own childhood: the mother of Green Bay safety Evan Williams, sitting in the stands, once babysat Brady when he was 5 years old.
Play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt pointed out Williams’ mom, Dani, in the crowd after Williams caught a tipped interception in the second quarter. “She babysat you when you were 5 years old!” Burkhardt said on air.
“I don’t get surprised very often, but I was shocked!” Brady responded.
Brady said he learned the detail from Williams himself before kickoff. “Evan Williams grew up in the Bay Area and his mom said that when I was 5 years old, she was babysitting me,” Brady said. “I said ‘I hope I was good when she was babysitting me.’ Maybe should throw in an extra tip now for me being a bad boy.”
Brady was born in San Mateo, California, a San Francisco suburb, before going on to win seven Super Bowls, five Super Bowl MVPs and earn 15 Pro Bowl nominations over his career.
Williams, 25, was born in nearby Los Gatos, California. He played college football at Fresno State and Oregon before Green Bay drafted him in the fourth round in 2024. This season he has three interceptions, four quarterback hits, one fumble recovery and one sack across nine games.
After Green Bay’s 45-27 win at Gillette Stadium, Williams told reporters his mother had also sprung the news on him years earlier, almost as an afterthought.
“I remember her telling me when I was growing up … I was probably starting high school or something, and she just tosses it out, ‘Oh yeah, I babysat Tom Brady, by the way,’ and then continues another conversation,” Williams said. “I’m like, ‘woah, woah, woah, we gotta go back.’ So I was never really too sure, but apparently it’s true.”
Sunday marked Brady’s first time calling a game from Gillette Stadium for Fox since retiring. The weekend also included the Patriots inducting Rob Gronkowski into their Hall of Fame and honoring the 2016 Super Bowl-winning team on the 10th anniversary of that title.
Green Bay improved to 6-3 and will host the 6-1 Vikings in Week 10. New England, now 5-4, heads to Munich to play the Detroit Lions.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login